Research Report

07/03/2009 - 00:43

DECLARATION

The First European Conference of Mediterranean Tourist Trade-Unions, taking place at Lefkosia, Cyprus, from September 29^th to October 1^st 2005, has discussed issues related to the Tourism sector of the economy.

The tourist industry is undergoing difficult times nowadays, due to the effects of different factors among which international terrorism should be mentioned, due to all its repercussions concerning security and the need to warrant it while preserving freedom.

All these, coupled with the global economic crisis, imply a reduced readiness to travel. Tourism is one of the tools favouring world-peace and can continue in this way in the future too.

If encouraged by adequate policies, tourism is a fundamental economic sector and as industry, it is a fundamental contribution to the building up of the enlarged European Union. This should be developed according to sustainability criteria in a very broad sense and has to contribute effectively to Europe's social cohesion.

There is, however, a broad diversity between the different Mediterranean countries in as much as the wages, professional level and normative treatment are concerned, even if those workers are on the same category. Still, the common factor grouping all those working in the industry is the prevailing of seasonal and atypical jobs and a lack of regulation concerning working conditions.

Due to these reasons, the Conference has considered - based upon the national reports - the following issues: seasonality of jobs, migration and migrating labour, workers mobility, European 'qualifications passport΄, and sustainable tourism. Beyond that, a thorough study was presented related to the impact of the multinational firms in our sector on the various aspects of the national economies in the different countries.

Labour relations, professional training, specialization, social protection and freedom of movement of workers are elements of fundamental importance to define the tourism-policies of the enlarged European Union. Special attention has to be given to the crystallization and creation of new professions in the industry and the relevant institutions should be involved in order to ensure compliance with the criteria to create qualitative jobs.

CONCLUSIONS

By Nicos Episthitiou Project Director

This paper was produced in Cyprus in promoting responsible and sustainable tourism in the Countries of the Mediterranean Area.

One of the main objectives affirmed by the 2^nd Congress of EFFAT is to promote and develop a policy on sustainable tourism. A policy that has to satisfy the economic, social and environmental aspects of tourism. It has to develop actions promoting the increase of occupation, particularly more qualified occupation, creating conditions of job and life of quality in a context of safeguard for the environmental, artistic and cultural heritage.

The European Trade Union Confederation, (ETUC) since June 2001, has pointed out the sustainability of the development as the heart of the European economic politics.

The European Union, with the document ΄΄Lisbon Strategy'', has recognized that economic progress is not sustainable without the social progress.

EFFAT and HOTREC with the joint declaration on ΄΄Initiative for an improvement of the social responsibility of the enterprises in the tourism sector'' recognize that the ΄΄companies of the sector have to contribute to the sustainable development, minimizing the negative impacts on people and the environment''.

Both National governments and the European Union have to promote specific legislation on the matter, since sustainable development is a richness for all.

The countries of the Mediterranean area, as a whole, remain the first world tourist destination.

Possibilities of organizing tourism in the Mediterranean area have been reduced, since arrivals in destinations and tourist periods (brief) are determined by the tour operators.

This:

- Does neither maintain nor create stable and qualified jobs: it however encourages the non-regular immigration and the precarious jobs;

- It negatively affects the economic, social and environmental realities of the destinations constantly putting in crisis the infrastructures and creating difficulty in the management of water resources, energy, transports and public services both for the tourists and for the residents.

Prior to any intervention, we need to take into account and promote the prevention of environmental, economic and social impacts. In this framework, we must reexamine the existing tourist destinations with the objective to widening the tourist seasons. We can not only attract tourists in coastal areas but also interland so it can allow to promote and secure tourists presence on longer periods and larger areas decreasing both the social and economic impacts. We also want to increase the exploitation of

the destinations both under the economic and cultural profile, developing occupation and lengthening the periods of it. We must improve working conditions of workers and quality of life for the residents, increasing at the same time the quality of services offered to the tourists.

Environmental emergency must not be underestimated.

We must not forget that the Mediterranean Sea:

- Is an almost closed sea.

- On its coasts live 500 million people, numbers drastically increasing with the tourists΄ arrivals.

- Many rivers pour in its basin carrying the pollution of the industrial and agricultural activities.

The environmental, historical, cultural, human and social resources of the Mediterranean basin are a heritage of humanity and as such we must protect it assuming initiatives to the local, national, regional and global level.

The measures that we have to adopt for a responsible and sustainable tourism in the Mediterranean are:

1. An observatory It is necessary to create an horizontal co-operation instrument, such as an observatory in which all the actors of the tourist industry will be represented, particularly unions that are representatives of workers. In this way we will have constant access to data on:

1) Statistics on the work forces, their professional classifications quality, the sectorial agreements and bargaining, the applied wage and contractual treatments and the migration streams of the workers in the sector.

2) The receptive availabilities and the services provided to the tourists.

3) The tourists΄ flow creating jobs.

4) The environmental dynamics, the good existing practices and their diffusion, with the goal to facilitate the political decisions in terms of preventive and corrective measures.

5) The classification list of the present resources on the territory, both of the shore as well as of adjacent zones, underlining the natural, historical, artistic and cultural heritage.

6) To promote any law and directive taken to fight against social dumping in the sector.

7) Working hardly for the adoption of European directives minimizing all weaknesses of the sector as:

- The difficult balance between professional and family life;
- The professional diseases;
- The prevention of health and safety at work;
- The lack of useful training.

2. The responsible tourism must also be stimulated. It is necessary to promote full accessibility to any destination and to the tourist services as well as to the transports for people with handicaps or particular requirements. Additionally we need to eliminate commercial sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry.

3. An integrated policy must be prevailed in promoting life long learning. It is also necessary to improve research, innovation and to overcome all obsolete technologies.

4. The social responsibility of enterprises must be stimulated as well as that of consumers΄ institutions. Greater tools of information and evaluation must be given to the tourists, to the residents, to the workers and to the unions in order to be able to control the behaviors of enterprises and institutions.

5. The pressure must be increased towards the international Tour Operators who are interested only with the pure search of the lowest price instead of the practices of sustainability.

6. The social dialogue between unions, entrepreneurs and public institutions, must be stimulated. All trade unions affiliated to EFFAT and IUF want to conclude agreements allowing the benefits in the tourism for a stable and quality job.

7. Tourism must be promoted because even if it was inserted in the Constitutional text it is not considered as a priority yet.

8. All initiatives of social dialogue must be stimulated by the unions among all the countries of the Mediterranean area beginning from those of North Africa. Particularly the unions should be more active in the business council of the committee of affiliates of WTO.

9. Given the high seasonality and mobility of workers in the tourism sector, we must pay a special attention to safeguarding working conditions standards and promoting high level of qualifications.

10. A European qualifications passport with reference to the Europass framework must be introduced for safeguarding and recognizing the knowledge and the professional qualifications of the employees in the hotel and restaurant sectors.

10. A European qualifications passport better known as EUROPASS must be introduced for safeguarding and recognizing the knowledge and the professional qualifications of the employees in the hotel and restaurant sectors.

11. The conference decided the establishment of a permanent steering committee in the promotion of the conference resolutions and declaration. The committee is constituted Nicolaos Epistithiou OEXEV-SEK Cyprus, Valter Surian CFDT France, Emilio Fargnoli UILTuCS Italy and Fernando Medina FECOHT- CC.OO Spain.

12. The conference decided that the next conference will be held in Italy next year.

Table of Contents

ITALY	The tourism sector in Italy from a legislative and contractual viewpoint.
SPAIN	Report to the first trade union conference on South European tourism.
CROATIA	Country report
MALTA	Information of Workers Organization in developing a Sustainable and Responsible Tourism in the Mediterranean Area.
CYPRUS	Country Report.
GREECE	Report of the Pan-Hellenic Federation.
ITALY	Immigration an insertion into the tourism labour market.
ITALY	Seasonality.
SPAIN	Immigration and the hotel and catering sector.
SPAIN	Seasonability in the hotel and catering sector and in tourism.
CYPRUS	State report on seasonability and its consequences on the economy and employment.
CYPRUS	State report on economic immigration.
CROATIA	Importance of Tourism for the Croatian Economy.

DOCUMENTS

A. La stagionalità nel Turismo italiano

B. The Europass initiative. A Short presentation (Carlo Scatoli, European Commission and Philippe Tissot, CEDEFOP)

C. Chiffres clés du tourisme en France

D. The case of Cyprus. Professional booklets in the Hotel industry (Department of Labour Relations)

E. World Tourism Organisation. Information of workers organizations in developing a sustainable and responsible tourism in the mediterranean area (Robert Lanquar, WTO Expert)

F. Environmentally Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean (Nicos Georgiades- Director, Environment Services, Ministry of Agriculture)

G. Tourism and Environment (Phoebe Katsouris- Director of Tourism, Cyprus Tourism Organisation)

H. National Report on seasonality: the impact on Croatian economy and employment (Vesna Dejanovic)

I. Evaluation questionnaire and results

The report has been written and edited by:

Emilio Fargnoli (UILTUCS - ITALY)

Fernando Medina (FECOHT - SPAIN)

Emilio Ferrero (FCHTJ-UGT)

Gabriele Guglielmi (FILCAMS - ITALY)

Gianni Baratta (FISASCAT - ITALY)

Josef Bugeja (GWU - MALTA)

Laila Castaldo (Expert - BELGIUM)

Leonidas Karathanasis (POEE-YTE - GREECE))

Marco Cilento (EFFAT - BELGIUM)

Nicos Epistithiou (OEXEV - SEK - CYPRUS)

Dimitrios Michail (OEXEV-SEK - CYPRUS)

Kyriakos Giasoumis (OEXEV-SEK - CYPRUS)

Vesna Dejanović (SSUTH - CROATIA)

Valter Surian (CFDT Services - FRANCE)

CHAPTER 1: COUNTRY REPORTS

ITALY. The tourism sector in Italy from a legislative and contractual viewpoint

Summary of legislation

The Reform of the national tourism legislation, No. 135 of 29 March 2001 has been approved after seventeen years of waiting during which the tourist industry has changed, in quantity and quality.

The new law, which is not yet fully applied, replaces the centralised plan on which Law 217/83 was based, and contains recognition of the role of tourist companies and the industry, redefines tourist companies, rightfully including them among the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in our production sector and recognises the strategic role of tourism in the development of the national economy and employment in an international context.

The law also establishes that the regional councils, in implementation of art. 117 of the Constitution, carry out tourist functions whilst the tasks and functions for tourism reserved to the Government - given that in 1993 the Ministry of Tourism was abolished by popular referendum - are carried out by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Handicraft. In particular, the Ministry deals with the inter-sector co-ordination of road works, advertising strategies in Italy and abroad and relations with the EU.

In the context of a new relationship between the central and local government, which favours participation and co-operation, the National Tourism Conference, which meets at least once every two years, has been formed. The Conference should be the permanent instrument of discussion between all the parties involved in Italian tourism, the seat in which all the various parties meet to co-operate in an attempt to re-launch tourism policies.

The innovative element of the Law is local tourism systems seen as new projects of development for the tourist offer, including homogeneous tourist environments belonging to more than one region, characterised by the integrated offer of cultural and environmental assets and tourist attractions. A new phase of emphasising localisation has been initiated, intended as the protagonist of the product and service to the guest.

Another innovation is recognition of the important role given to a national, non-welfare, promotion Fund, which intends to guarantee and promote access to holidays to a group of people who do not usually go on holiday or do not systematically do so for economic reasons.

This possibility has also been thought up with reference to the Swiss and French ΄΄Good holidays'' experience, which have been particularly successful thanks to the growing interest of the tourist employees and enterprises.

Summary of agreements

The freedom to negotiate and conclude common right collective contracts is recognised by:

- art.39 (freedom of trade union organisations) of the Italian Constitution and international law (the right to collective negotiation).

- art.36 of the Italian Constitution, which ratifies the principle that the worker has the right to remuneration proportionate to the quality and quantity of his/her work and in any case sufficient to ensure him/her and his/her family a free and dignified existence.

In the tourist sector, every division had its own national agreement: Hotels, Open-air Tourist-Reception Complexes, Public Concerns, Beach Front Concessions, Travel and Tourism Enterprises. On 10 April 1979, the first national agreement for the Tourist sector in which the specific nature of each division was maintained was created.

Today, in fact, the National Collective Labour Agreement includes a general part valid for all the divisions, trade union Relations, Classification of personnel, the Work Market, Pay etc., and every division has a special part.

During the 1990s, a series of confrontations between the government and the parties developed and a planning policy which led to various agreements was defined. The main agreement on the revenue policies, which also defined the structure of the agreement, was reached on 23 July 1993. There are two levels of negotiation based on this agreement:

National, which establishes the duration of the agreements, 4 years for the legal part and two years for the wage part. Increases in salary in the first two years are based on inflation levels estimated by the Government. After two years, the trade unions for the category meet to define further salary increases, or recovery of the difference between planned and real inflation.

The agreement establishes that the planned inflation rate must be the subject of discussion between the parties (Government, entrepreneurs, trade unions) and assumed as a common objective.

The current Government has not applied the contents of the agreement dated 23 July 1993 and the trade union organisations and entrepreneurs, exercising contractual autonomy, have in the last renewal of the National Collective Labour Agreement decided that the agreement will be of a four year duration both for the legal and wage parts.

The increases in remuneration are calculated on the basis of the criteria established by the protocol dated 23-7-93, taking account of the need to recover the purchasing power of the remuneration linked to the trend of the sector.

Second level of company and/or territorial negotiation.

At this level, variable and no longer fixed (as occurred in the past) wage increases, linked to the results obtained in the carrying out of programmes agreed between the parties, with the objective of improving productivity, quality and the other competitive elements available to the enterprises, can be negotiated.

The items constituting remuneration are:

1) the cost-of-living allowance

This item of remuneration derives from the cost-of-living allowance established by a decree dating back to 1944.

This allowance is automatically up-dated every three months.

In 1986, the mechanism of calculation was amended and became semi-annual.

In 1992, the cost-of-living allowance was frozen to a fixed amount and the system of automatic re-evaluation ceased.

2) basic pay

Basic pay is the minimum remuneration for the position corresponding to the duties of the employee in question.

The basic pay is differentiated by level of remuneration. There are 7 levels of classification established by the National Collective Labour Agreement, to which Executives should be added. The seventh level is the lowest. The majority of persons working in tourism are classified in the fourth level.

3) the length of service increases, which are three-yearly and for each increase Euro 33.05 is paid for the fourth level.

The collective agreements besides the direct salary, i.e. that paid monthly, also define indirect remuneration.

Indirect remuneration is the year-end bonus paid in the Christmas period, bonus (of a month΄s salary) paid in the summer holiday period and the employee severance pay allocated at the termination of the working relationship.

The National Collective Labour Agreement acknowledges and improves the legislation on the Work Market. Working Hours.

An important Law, No. 300 - The Worker΄s Statute of Rights - which lays down the law on the protection of the freedom and dignity of workers, the freedom of trade unions and trade union activities in work sites, was approved in Italy on 20 May 1970.

SPAIN. Report to the first trade union conference on South European tourism

LABOUR LEGISLATION APPLICABLE TO WORKERS IN THE HOTEL AND CATERING SECTOR

The labour legislation applicable to workers in the Spanish Hotel and Catering sector is that applicable to all workers in general, particularly those provisions of the Spanish Constitution with regard to the rights to unionize, to strike or of collective bargaining, the Organic Law on Trade Union Freedom (LOLS), and the Statute of Worker΄s Rights.

TRADE UNIONS

The two biggest trade unions for the hotel and catering sector in Spain are CC.OO (Workers΄ Commissions) and UGT (General Workers΄ Union). They are the only ones with the consideration of ΄΄most representative΄΄[1], at the national level, since most part of the unitary representatives elected in the sector belong to these trade unions, and they are present when bargaining all agreements in the sector and most part of the companies agreements.

Both trade unions are members of the EFFAT and UITA

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

● Sector level. The trade unions with the consideration of most representative or with al least 10 % of the unitary representatives are legitimized to negotiate or to bargain

● Nation wide Labour Agreement for the Hotels & Catering Sector (ALEH) It only regulates the following aspects:

General dispositions (signatories, legal nature, scope of validity, demand mechanisms, parity commission and structure of collective bargaining)

Professional classification and functional mobility

Out-of-court settlement of labour disputes

Professional training

Labour disciplinary measures

Conventional subrogation into groups due to change of employer.

● Fifty five agreements at the provincial level (at the Autonomous Community level in the case of Catalonia, although with different salary tables for each province). There is just one agreement per province, except for Madrid and La Rioja, where there are two different agreements: on catering and on accommodation.

1.1 Company level. Unitary representatives or trade union representations are legitimized to bargain. Apart from the sectoral agreements, there are also several collective agreements and company agreements, but sectoral bargaining represents more than 90% of workers.

REPRESENTATION OF WORKERS: TRADE UNION RIGHTS

2.1 DUAL REPRESENTATION MODEL

Ø Unitary representation: employee committees in companies or centres with at least 50 workers and personnel delegates, in companies or centres with more than ten workers (it is also possible in companies with more than 6 workers if the majority reaches an agreement). Inter-centre committees.

Ø Strict trade union representation

2.2 UNITARY REPRESENTATION

Ø Their appointment is agreed by all workers through an election process. In the case of inter-centre committees, there is a second level indirect election process.

Ø They represent all workers, regardless of their trade union membership

2.3 TRADE UNION REPRESENTATION

Ø Organized at the trade union, which is legally recognized by lodging its statutes in the relevant Public Office.

Ø The union section at the company is made up by the members of a trade union.

Ø The trade union delegate represents the union section. He/she can be appointed in companies or centres with more than 250 workers when the trade union has representatives in the company committee. When collective bargaining, less workers can appoint the union delegate.

Ø The Organic Law on Trade Union Freedom (LOLS) regulates trade union representation.

2.4 TRADE UNION REPRESENTATIVENESS

Ø It is measured with the result of trade union elections for unitary representatives

Ø The highest trade union representativeness conferred to some trade unions means that they are ΄΄the most representative trade unions'', and they are granted with several special rights: institutional representation, organize elections of unitary representatives, collective bargaining, participate in the establishment of working conditions in public administrations, etc.

Ø The most representative trade unions at the national level are those that ΄΄prove to have a special assistance, which means at least ten percent of the total personnel delegates, of the members of companies committees and of the relevant Public Administration Bodies.'' And also the federated and confederated trade unions at the national level with the consideration of most representative.

2.5 POWERS AND RIGHTS OF WORKERS REPRESENTATIONS

Ø Rights: They are identical for the members of the companies committees, the personnel delegates and the trade union delegates. They have, at least, the following ones: monthly time-off rights; freedom of expression of opinions with regard to their representation, with the possibility of publishing or distributing the relevant information among the represented workers; priority of continuance in the company in cases of suspension or elimination of positions; not to be penalised or dismissed during the period they execute their duties or during the following year after termination of their position, provided that the penalty is based on the activity carried out while executing their duties; contradictory proceedings in case of penalty for serious or gross misconduct; possibility of choosing between reintegration or compensation in case of deemed unfair dismissal according to the labour jurisdiction.

Ø Powers: They are common for all members of the companies committees, personnel delegates and trade union delegates

ü Right of information (regarding engagement, subcontracting, overtime, absenteeism, penalties, economical and financial situation, etc.)

ü Right of hearing, the representative is to make statements in first place (in proceedings against other representatives or in case of penalty for members, restructurings, reduction in working hours, change of premises, professional training plans, introduction of a system of organization or control, time study, systems of premiums and incentives and assessment of positions, merger, takeover or modification of the legal status of a company affecting the employment volume, establishment of time-tables, recognition of superior professional categories)

ü Right to consultation: they can not only issue a report, but they can also reach agreements, even though the said agreements are not compulsory. Always prior to the enforcement of company decisions. It can invalidate the decision or stop the administrative proceeding. In cases of termination and suspension of contracts and temporary reduction of working hours, collective transfers, substantial modification of collective working conditions, companies΄ succession, previous consultation to prevention delegates.

ü Appointment of prevention delegates. Defend workers΄ rights with regards to occupational risks prevention.

ü Surveillance and control. With regard to occupational risk prevention. Closely related: possibility of stopping the company activity in case of serious accident risk. In general: surveillance regarding the enforcement of labour, security, social and employment regulations.

LABOUR MARKET. WORKING CONDITIONS

The Spanish hotel and catering sector is characterized by high levels of seasonability, occupational segregation and a weak policy for professional qualification and recognition. A brief analysis of the labour network in the tourist sector indicates a growth of the number of wage earners and a decrease of self-employed.

The unequal distribution of the percentage of women per subsector is also a clear indicator of occupational segregation. The profile of workers in hotels and travel agencies is women between 30 and 44 with secondary education, and the profile for the catering sector is women between 16 and 29. Nevertheless, in the tourist industry as a whole, 59% of the employees are men with contracts in transport companies, other tourist activities and also in hotels.

Today, working relations are characterized in most occasions by deregulation and occupational seasonability. According to the data available from the EPA (labour force survey) and the IET (Institute of Tourist Studies), one out of ten workers with temporary contracts in the services sector is working in tourism.

In 2004, 32.8% of workers were temporary employees in the sector, a slightly higher percentage than the national average (31.2%). Seasonability is higher for women (41.7%) and lower for men (26.6%), and it is especially present for workers under 30 (56.8%). Seasonability is higher in areas with sun and beach tourism. For instance, Andalusia has a worrying rate of seasonability of 42%.

It is important to highlight that the hotel and catering sector is one of the sectors that provide more jobs to immigrant workers (with a special concentration in some areas). Due to their defenselessness, this group suffers in a special way the problems of seasonability (see presentation on migrations), occupational segregation and weak professional qualification and recognition.

With regard to retributions, despite the difficulty to establish the average salaries, since there are lots of different agreements and different amounts for each category, we can say that the most usual amount for agreements signed or reviewed in 2003-2004 is 12088. Although this amount can increase with some bonuses such as those for transport, maintenance, extras, overnight, etc., the salary average is not very high in comparison to other sectors.

The most usual working hours established in agreements signed in 2003-2004 is 40 hours a week with an annual average of 1797 hours.

Appendix 1. Source: Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

DATA OF TOURIST EMPLOYMENT ACCORDING TO MEMBERSHIP TO NATIONAL INSURANCE

Table 1. Workers in tourist-based activities, according to registration in the National Insurance

June 2005. Definitive data

Total Inter-monthly Inter.-annual Average value since Interannual var.

Variation Variation January Average value since

Total workers 1.810.870 1,4 5,0 1.714.079 3,8

Wage earners 1.375.598 1,7 5,9 1.286.901 4,3

Self-employed 435.272 0,7 2,3 427.178 2,6

Table 2. Workers in hotel and catering and travel agencies sectors, according to registration in the National Insurance

June 2005. Definitive data

Total Inter-monthly Inter.-annual Average value since Interannual var.

Variation Variation January Average value since

Total workers 1.231.686 3,9 5,3 1.127.346 3,6

Wage earners 916.475 5,0 6,6 818.450 4,2

Self-employed 315.211 0,8 1,8 308.896 2,1

Table 3. Workers in hotel and catering and travel agencies sectors, according to activity branch.

June 2005. Definitive data

Total Inter-monthly Inter.-annual Average value since Interannual var.

Variation Variation January Average value since

Hotel and catering 1.231.686 3,9 5,3 1.127.346 3,6

and travel agencies

Hotels and other 283.562 6,8 4,0 239.910 2,6

accommodation

Catering 891.696 3,0 5,6 834.584 3,6

Activities of 56.428 2,6 7,7 52.852 7,2

travel agencies

Table 4. Workers in hotel and catering and travel agencies sectors, per Autonomous Community

June 2005. Definitive data

Total Inter-monthly Inter.-annual Average value since Interannual var.

Variation Variation January Average value since

National Total 1.231.686 3,9 5,3 1.127.346 3,6

Anadalusia 187.768 5,0 6,5 171.646 5,2

Balearic Islands 104.651 10,1 3,5 69.271 1,2

Canary Islands 105.381 1,8 3,1 105.201 1,5

Catalonia 207.300 5,5 5,2 185.112 4,2

Valencian Comm. 122.137 4,7 6,2 111.970 4,3

Madrid (Comm.) 152.706 0,1 4,8 149.816 2,7

Rest of Aut. Comm. 351.743 2,6 5,9 334.330 3,8

CROATIA. Country report

Framework law in Tourism in Croatia:

LIST OF PREVAILING REGULATIONS IN THE AREA OF THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY (CATERING AND HOTELS) AND TOURISM

1. THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES ACT

((Narodne novine [Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia], No. 49/03 [edited text] and 117/03 )

Detailed Regulations:

Ø Regulations on the Classification, Categorization, Special Standards and Special Quality of Accommodation Objects, Group: Hotels (Narodne novine, No. 48/02, 108/02 [correction] and 132/03)

Ø Regulations on the Classification, Minimal Requirements and Categorization of Hospitality Objects (Narodne novine, No. 57/95, 110/96, 24/97, 61/98, 137/98, 19/99, 39/99, 52/99, 43/00, 52/00, 57/00, 63/00, 18/01 and 33/01 [correction])

Ø Regulations on the Form, Content and Manner of Keeping a Register on the Minimal Requirements and Requirements for a Category of Hospitality Objects, and on the Forms of Requirements for Hotel Operators and Caterers and on the Form, Content and Manner of Keeping a Register on the Minimal Requirements and Requirements for a Category of Object for Providing Hospitality Services to Citizens in Household Management, and the Application Forms for Citizens (Narodne novine, No. 3/96)

Ø Regulations on the Register of the Minimal Requirements of Hospitality Objects that are Not Categorized and Application Forms for Providers of Hospitality Services (Narodne novine, No. 14/96, 30/96 and 75/97)

Ø Regulations on the Application Forms and Register on Providing Hospitality Services in Objects of a Closed Type (Narodne novine, No. 14/96, 39/96 and 75/97)

Ø Regulations on the Form, Content and Manner of Keeping a Guest Book and Guest List (Narodne novine, No. 14/96)

Ø Regulations on Providing Hospitality Services in Moving Objects (Narodne novine, No. 22/96, 137/98 and 153/02)

Ø Regulations on Providing Hospitality Services in Village Households (Narodne novine, No. 22/96, 47/97, 38/96 [correction], 25/99 , 29/00 and 196/03)

Ø Regulations on the Form, Content and Manner of Keeping a Complaint Book (Narodne novine, No. 52/96, 47/97 and 54/97 [correction])

2. TOURISM ACTIVITIES ACT

("Narodne novine" broj 8/96, 19/96 [correction] and 76/98),

- The stipulations of Article 66, Paragraph 2 (Article 80 of the Government Inspection Agency Act, Narodne novine, No. 76/99) - are not in effect.

Detailed Regulations:

Ø Regulations on the Vocational Examination for Tourist Guides and the Examination Program for Tourist Escorts (Narodne novine, No. 54/96)

Ø Regulations on the Form, Content and Manner of Keeping a Complaint Book (Narodne novine, No. 52/96, 47/97 and 54/97 [correction])

Ø Regulations on the Minimal Technical Requirements and Manner of Providing Services by Tourism Agencies (Narodne novine, No. 62/96, 23/97 and 134/98)

Ø Regulations on the Register of Tourism Agencies (Narodne novine, No. 62/96, 78/96 [correction] and 75/97)

Ø Regulations on the Register of Permits to Provide Tourism Services by Citizens (Narodne novine, No. 62/96 and 75/97)

Ø Regulations on the Register of Tourist Guides (Narodne novine, No. 62/96, 78/96 [correction] and 75/97)

Ø Regulations on the Register of Contracts on Representation by Tourist Agents (Narodne novine, No. 62/96 and 153/02)

Ø Regulations on the Identification Documents of Tourist Guides (Narodne novine, No. 62/96 and 153/02)

Ø Regulations on the Examination Program for the Head of an Office, Composition of the Examination Commission and Manner of Taking the Vocational Examination (Narodne novine, No. 62/96)

Ø Regulations on the Identification Code of Travel Agencies (Narodne novine, No. 78/96, 47/97 and 80/98)

Ø Regulations on the Vocational Examination for Tourism Animators (Narodne novine, No. 95/96, 39/00 and 81/00)

Ø Regulations on Tourism Services and Nautical Tourism that Can be Provided by a Citizen (Narodne novine, No. 109/96)

Ø Regulations on the Classification and Categorization of Harbors of Nautical Tourism (Narodne novine, No. 142/99, 47/00, 121/00, 45/01 and 108/01)

Ø Regulations on the Types and Categories of the Nautical Vessels of Nautical Tourism (Narodne novine, No. 11/97, 105/98, 38/99, 56/00 and 106/00)

3. TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS AND THE PROMOTION OF CROATIAN TOURISM ACT

("Narodne novine", No. 30/94)

Detailed Regulations:

Regulations on the Declaration and Classification of Tourism Localities into Classes (Narodne novine, No. 75/94, 69/97, 60/98 and 78/99).
Regulations on the Forms and Manner of Keeping the Register of Tourism Associations (Narodne novine, No. 45/94)
Regulations on the Special Conditions that Must be Met by Employees of Tourism Offices of the Tourism Associations of Municipalities, Cities, Counties and the Main Office of the Croatian Tourism Association (Narodne novine, 134/98, 23/99, 138/99, 98/00 and 9/03)

4. TOURIST TAX ACT

Narodne novine, No. 35/95 - edited text, 42/95 [correction], 52/95 [correction] and 64/00)

Ø Regulations on the Procedure for the Check-in and Check-out of Tourists and the Manner of Keeping a Tourist List (Narodne novine, No. 45/94, 32/96 and 71/97)

Ø Decree on the Establishment of the Amount of the Tourist Tax for the Year 2004 (Narodne novine, No. 100/03)

Ø Decree on the Establishment of the Amount of the Tourist Tax for the Year 2005 (Narodne novine, No.91/04)

Ø Ordinance on the Periods of the Main Season, Pre-Season, Post-Season and Out-of-Season in Tourism Localities (Narodne novine, No. 83/95 and 95/95)

Ø Decree on the Amount of the Annual Lump Sum Tourist Tax for the Users of Permanent Moorings in Harbors of Nautical Tourism for the Year 2004 (Narodne novine, No.100/03)

Ø Decree on the Amount of the Annual Lump Sum Tourist Tax for the Users of Permanent Moorings in Harbors of Nautical Tourism for the Year 2005 (Narodne novine, No. 91/04)

5. MEMBERSHIP FEES IN TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS ACT
(Narodne novine, No. 35/95 - edited text, 52/95 [correction])

Detailed Regulations:

- Directives in Connection with the Payment of Membership Fees in Tourism Associations (Narodne novine, No. 69/96)

4) National Bargaining- Sectoral agreement,

SSUTH signed with Association of employers two national Collective Agreement: Collective agreement for the travel agencies, and Collective agreement for the hotel industry, restaurants, bars and catering. Regarding the low, Ministry of labor, made a decision of implying both collective agreement to all employees. Those two collective agreements are very rear case in Croatia that has to bee applied to all employees.

3. National Bargaining - Company level,

SSUTH signed more than 100 collective agreement on the company level in which we insure higher level of workers wrights and salaries.

4. Union Relations, Nationally and Internationally,

SSUTH is the member of UATUC (Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia), EFFAT and IUF.

5. Any kind of protection for the Union representatives (shop stewards) in Croatia,

Regarding to the Labor low and Collective agreement signed by SSUTH, Union representatives - shop stewards are protected on a way that shop stewards shouldn΄t be moved or hired from her/his work place without confirmation of Trade Union in the company. Besides, regarding two collective agreements, shop stewards have 2 hours per member per year for the Trade Union work in the company level, and employer has to insure them office, equipment ( at least a telephone, fax), and possibility to organize meetings for members in the situation when it is a need.

6. Wage system or wage legislation in Croatia

We have national collective agreement signed by Government and all the Confederations which is insuring the minimum wage for all the employees. In our two collective agreements for the travel agencies and hotel, restaurants, bars and catering, we have the system of automatically increasing the wages every year, following the increasing of the approximate wage in Croatia. The minimum wage in the sector is 36% of approximate wage in Croatia, which is basic coefficient 1 (one). The individual wage for each worker depends of her/his coefficient, which might be till 4 (without managers or special agreements).

7. Labor market (working conditions) in Hotels and Restaurants

Basic working conditions are insured through the Labor low but the better and specific working conditions in the sector are insured through two collective agreements. It means additional payment for Sunday, for second shift, for night work, etc.

In the labor market, we have around 42.000 employees (the whole sector, seasonal and permanent workers), but we are faced with some new appearance like need of some specific profiles of employees, like animator, cooker, which we have no enough in our labor market, and we have to import the work force.

On a labor market, a process of restructuring and privatization is going on, which is pushing a huge number of older workers, out of process of work. At the same time, permanent workers are replacing with part time or seasonal workers, which is a big problem for organizing the workers to become members.

MALTA. Information of Workers Organization in developing a Sustainable and Responsible Tourism in the Mediterranean Area.

The steering committee of the Project at its meeting in Valencia-Spain on the 9^th of July 2005 decided to ask all the participants to prepare a five pages written Country Report on the following items.

1. Framework law in Tourism in their countries,

2. National Bargaining- Sectoral agreement,

3. National Bargaining- Company level,

4. Union Relations, Nationally and Internationally,

5. Any kind of protection for the Union representatives (shop stewards) in their countries,

6. Wage system or wage legislation in their countries,

7. Labour market (working conditions) in Hotels and Restaurants.

The tourism industry in Malta is deemed to be one of the core pillars of the local economy facing serious challenges. Therefore the need to secure business not only through competitive prices but also through excellent service is paramount. Customer relations are largely a function of the way in which employees are trained and rewarded for treating those customers. The type of internal social relationship between the parties involved in employment relations would mirror on the external customer. Thus employers should enhance customer relationship and attract more tourists, by safeguarding employee΄s conditions.

1. Framework law in Tourism in their countries,

The Conditions of Employment and Industrial Relations in Malta are regulated by various legislations. The Employment and Industrial Relations Act of 2003 is the main legislation regulating Industrial Relations. The new Act does not only cater for the social and economic conditions but it also brought Maltese legislation in conformity with the EU΄s acquis communautaire.

There are also several ILO conventions and European Directives relating to work employment that have been ratified by the Government and incorporated into the said legislation through Legal Notices.

Employment Legislation

Employment and Industrial Relations Act, 2002
Collective Redundancies (protection of employment) Regulations, 2002
European Works Council Regulations, 2003
Fixed Term Contracts Regulations, 2002
Guarantee Fund Regulations, 2002
Information to Employees Regulations, 2002
Organization of Working Time Regulations, 2003
Parental Leave Entitlement Regulations, 2003
Part Time Employees Regulations, 2002
Posting of Workers in Malta Regulations, 2002
Protection of Maternity (Employment) Regulations, 2003
Transfer of Business Regulations, 2002
Urgent Family Leave Regulations, 2003
Young Persons (Employment) Regulations, 2003

Health & Safety Legislation

Occupational Health & Safety Authority Act, 2000
Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations, 2003
Minimum Requirements for the use of Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations, 2003
Minimum H&S Requirements for work with Display Screen Equipment Regulations, 2002
Protection of Young Persons at Work Places Regulations, 2000
Protection against Risks of Back Injury at Work Places Regulations, 2003
Protection from Risks Related to Chemical Agents at Work Regulations, 2003
Workplace (minimum H&S Requirements) Regulations, 2002
Regulations establishing List of Exposure Limit Values (Chemical Agents), 2003
Workplace (First Aid) Regulations, 2002
Workplace (Provision of Health and/or Safety Signs) Regulations, 2002

Also in 2004, the Maltese government enacted other employment-related regulations:

the European Works Council Regulations (2004), which are intended to improve the rights of employees to be informed and consulted through the establishment of a European Works Council or equivalent arrangements. These regulations repealed the European Works Council (Information and Consultation) Regulations (2003);

the Employee Involvement (European Company) Regulations (2004), which 'establish the arrangements for the involvement of employees in the affairs of European public limited liability companies as referred to in Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001, thereby giving effect to the relevant provisions of Council Directive 2001/86/EC of the 8th October 2001 supplementing the Statute for a European Company with regard to the involvement of employees' ; and

the Equal Treatment in Employment Regulations (2004), which 'put into effect the principle of equal treatment in relation to employment by laying down minimum requirements to combat discriminatory treatment on the grounds of religion or religious beliefs, disability, age, sexual orientation, and racial or ethnic origin' .

National Bargaining - Sectoral Agreement.

Collective bargaining at sectoral or regional level is nearly inexistent. This is partly due to the small size of the private employment market and the relatively undifferentiated nature of the company, where a single firm could constitute an economic sub-sector. There are some exceptions to this trend: the single collective agreement signed by the General Workers΄ Union (GWU) with the Corinthia Group of companies (a Maltese - owned hospitality chain)

At the tripartite national institution (MCESD) the social partners discuss issues of national interests. The institutionalisation of tripartite social dialogue began in 1990 through the agreement on an annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) based on retail price index (RPI) measured and monitored by a committee representing the three social partners. Indeed in the 1990΄s the Maltese Industrial Relations system was characterised by bargaining at two levels: at enterprise level through single collective bargaining and at national level at the Malta Council of Economic Development (MCED), later reconstituted as the Malta Council of Economic and Social Development (MCESD). However employers΄ associations and unions agree that insufficient results have accrued from such encounters at a national level. During 2004, the social partners and government discussed a possible social pact, aimed at enhancing national competitiveness, but no consensus was reached.

3. National Bargaining- Company level

Collective bargaining in Malta is carried out on a voluntary bi-partite basis. However the court of law recognises the collective agreement entered into by employers and trade unions as a special type of contractual relationship. In the Employment and Industrial Relations Act 2002 (EIRA), a collective agreement is defined as an agreement entered into between an employer or one or more organisations of employers and one or more organisations of employees regarding conditions of employment in accordance with the provisions of any law in force in Malta. Employers are obliged to recognise a trade union for the purpose of collective bargaining if a particular trade union can command a simple majority (50% plus one) of the employees it seeks to represent. Each collective agreement covers only those parties signatory to the collective agreement i.e. only organised employers/employees. Collective agreements are not extended to other parties who are not signatories to them.

The parties involved in collective bargaining are employers or their representatives and trade unions΄ representatives. Shop stewards generally play a prominent role in the bargaining and often take an active part in the negotiation. The agreements are signed by parties representing the organisations (employers and trade union) involved in bargaining.

In over 90% of the cases, this catchments group consists of all employees in a specific enterprise, excluding senior management. In the remainder, it could comprise a specific occupational segment within an enterprise. Where no trade unions are recognised by the employer, no collective bargaining takes place.

It is estimated that around 60% of all full-time employees in Malta are covered by collective agreements.

Government does not have the right to interfere in such a contract freely entered by employers and trade unions unless clauses are inserted in the agreement that permit conditions of work which go below the minimum standards stipulated by law. During the 2005 budget speech given in November 2004, the government stated that the practice of awarding leave in lieu for public holidays that fall on weekends would be discontinued. This proposal, which will result in the loss of four days of leave in 2005, was heavily criticised by unions. The General Workers΄ Union submitted its case against the Maltese government because he interfered and breached the ILO convention on Free Collective Bargaining.

4. Union Relations - Nationally and Internationally,

The General Workers' Union (GWU) is the largest trade union in Malta. Every Union's strength lies in its membership. Its representation is wide and reaches all sectors of the Maltese economy. The General Workers Union is one of the main leading social partners and its aim is to change the role of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development from simply a debating society into a platform where effective social dialogue between the social partners takes place. The GWU is comprised of eight sections, all of which are involved in collective bargaining. These sections organise within their ranks the union's vast and widespread membership on a sectoral level according to the members' trades, skills or professions, the type of work they are employed in and the nature and ownership of their workplace.

On a national level the GWU is represented on the Malta Council of Economic and Social Development, Workers Participation Development Centre, National Employment Authority, Social Security Board, Employment Relations Board, Health & Safety Authority and a number of other boards dealing with pensioners, education, health, youth and social security.

On the other hand the Hospitality & Food Section takes active part in discussions with other national organizations on the Tourism sector mainly Malta Hotels and Restaurant Association (MHRA), Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), Malta Employers Association(MEA).

On the international level the General Workers Union is a co-founder member of International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). It is also a member of European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Subsequently on an international level each section is affiliated to a global union and European Union. The Hospitality and Food Section is affiliated to the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association. On European level it is affiliated to the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism Sectors and Allied Branches (EFFAT).

Further more the section secretary is an executive member of IUF representing the Eastern Mediterranean region.

5. Any kind of protection for the Union representatives (shop stewards) in their countries.

The shop steward plays an important role in the union structure. He/She very often liaises with the section secretary in the bargaining process. In Malta legally constituted workers΄ representative bodies at the workplace are absent.

6. Wage system or wage legislation in their countries,

Malta has had a national minimum wage since 1974. This is adjusted by 'cost of living΄ increases based on the inflation of the previous 12 months, which are legislated via National Standard Orders. The minimum wage has gone up from Lm 10 (approx. 23.50 euros) per week in 1974 to Lm 55.63 (approx. 130.75 euros) as of 1st January 2005.

Wage-fixing machinery

There is no national or sectoral wage fixing machinery, other than that for the weekly minimum wage as described above. Otherwise, remuneration is determined on the basis of collective bargaining at enterprise level or, in the absence of recognised trade unions, by free individual bargaining.

Protection of wages

Part 3 (Articles 11 to 25) of the Employment & Industrial Relations Act addresses this issue in detail. Wages are to be paid in full, at regular (4 weekly) intervals and directly to the employee concerned, unless the employee determines otherwise, and in legal tender. In case of insolvency of the employer, any claim by any employee in respect of a maximum of three months of the current wage payable by the employer to the employee, and compensation for leave to which the employee is entitled, together with any compensation due to the employee in consideration of the termination of employment, or any notice thereof, shall constitute a privileged claim over the assets of the employer and shall be paid in preference to all other claims whether privileged or hypothecary. However, the maximum amount of worker's claim protected by the privilege shall not exceed the equivalent of the national minimum wage payable at the time of the claim over a period of six months.

Furthermore, in accordance with European Directive 80/987/EC, a Guarantee Fund is being set up to provide funds, initially paid for by the state, when such privileged claims due to employees cannot be paid out of the insolvent employer's estate.

7. Labour market (working conditions) in Hotels and Restaurants.

Where employees are not unionized, there basic conditions are those set by The Employment and Industrial Relations Act of 2003 or through individual agreements. Those employees who are unionized and are covered by collective agreements have better benefits and conditions. Among others are better pay, an increase in vacation leave, better allowances etc.

Usually the collective agreements are divided into three sections.

Management Clause: covering the right of the management to manage the work place.

Union Function: covering the right to the recognized union to perform collective bargaining.

The last part is the conditions, benefits and pay for the employees covered by that agreement.

A typical collective agreement in the private sector would have the following clauses:

Introduction

1. Preamble

2. Recognition and Scope

3. Period

4. Subject Matter

5. Management Clause

6. Union Security and Functions

7. Interpretation

8. Collection of Union Dues

9. Probationary Period

10. Resignation or Termination of Employment

11. Rates of Pay

12. Hours of Work

13. Payment of Wages

14. Overtime

15. Annual Leave

16. Public Holidays

17. Special Leave

18. Surplus Leave

19. Absences

20. Sickness

21. Injury While on Duty

22. Time Recording and Lateness

23. Notice Boards

24. Social and Welfare Fund

25. Security

26. Promotions and Filling of Vacancies

27. Demotions and Redundancy

28. Reckoning of Seniority

29. Past Service

30. Long Service Awards

31. Attendance Bonus

32. Normal Retiring Age

33. Report on unsatisfactory Work or Conduct

34. Disciplinary Procedure

35. Grievance Procedure

36. Temporary Suspension of Work

37. Cessation of Work

38. Legislation

39. Exclusion of New Demands

App. 'A' Categories of Employees

App. 'B' Weekly Wage Rates (Clerical and Indirect)

App. 'C' Basic Wage and Base Rates (Direct)

App. 'D' Collection of Union Dues

App. 'E' Medical Certificate

App. 'F' Plant Rules

Probation

The probationary period base line is six months throughout, but extended to one year for salaried positions of responsibility. During probation the employment may be terminated at will by either party without assigning any reason, provided that a week΄s notice of the termination of employment is given to the other party in the case of an employee who has been in the employment of the same employer continuously for more than one month.

Notice

The collective agreement stipulates the duration of the notice period. This is based on the main labour legislation. A contract of employment for an indefinite time may be terminated, by giving notice, by the employee without assigning any reason and by the employer, only on grounds of redundancy. However, notice of termination of employment may not be given during maternity leave or during the period of incapacity for work.

Severance payment

There is no statutory provision for severance payments at law. However, it is common practice for trade unions or individual employers to negotiate or offer severance payments in specific cases, especially in matters of collective redundancy. Such measures are enshrined within extant collective agreements.

Remedies in case of unjustified dismissal

The Industrial Tribunal now enjoys exclusive jurisdiction to consider and decide all cases of alleged unfair dismissals, including those of employees under a fixed-term contract of employment. In cases where the Industrial Tribunal finds in favour of the dismissed employee it may order reinstatement when it considers that it would be practicable and in accordance with equity, for the complainant to be reinstated or re-engaged by the employer. In other cases the Tribunal will only order compensation. Generally, it will not order reinstatement when the employee occupied a position of special trust nor in cases where the employee has not made a specific request for reinstatement. In such cases the Tribunal will only order adequate compensation. To this end the law prescribes that in determining the amount of compensation, the Tribunal is to take into consideration the real damages and losses incurred by the worker who was unjustly dismissed, as well as other circumstances, including the worker΄s age and skills as may affect the employment potential of the said worker.

Termination at the initiative of the employee

A contracted employee is bound to give notice to the employer, in accordance with the notice period.

Hours of work

Legal Working Time, Overtime and Overtime Rates: The hours of work are based on 40 hours per week. There are though some exceptions, where employees work less than 40. Over and above the normal working hours, the collective agreement stipulates at what rate overtime is paid.

The ratification of the '48 Hour΄ Directive (93/104/EC) obliged employers to refrain from engaging employees on overtime against their will, where and if they exceed a 48 hour week. So far, employees have not been able to refuse overtime requests from employers.

Paid leave

The number of days of paid vacation leave is not legally codified: it has rather been the subject of national standard orders. Currently, employees enjoy the equivalent of four working weeks plus four days of paid vacation leave per annum. They also benefit from 14 public holidays with pay per year.

Sick leave

Although sick leave is determined on the basis of the wage regulation orders specific to particular employment sectors, most collective agreements increase the number of sick leave entitlement.

Urgent leave

All employees, whether full-time or part-time, are now entitled to time off from work on grounds of force majeure for urgent family reasons in those cases of sickness or accident were the immediate presence of the employee is indispensable. An employer is bound to grant to every employee a minimum of ten hours with pay per year as time off from work for urgent family reasons as specified in the respective regulations.

Educational leave, leave for trade union purposes.

Malta has not ratified ILO Convention No. 140 (Paid Educational Leave). However, provisions in most collective agreements at enterprise level allow designated trade union officials in such enterprises to participate on full pay in educational activities organized by their trade union during their working time.

CYPRUS. Country report

·

TOPICS:

- LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR TOURISM,

- NATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS - SECTORAL AGREEMENTS,

- NATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS - BUSINESS AGREEMENTS,

- FEDERATION'S RELATIONS ON NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS,

- PROTECTION OF THE WORKERS' REPRESENTATIVES (LOCAL COMMITTEES)

- SALARY DETERMINATION SYSTEM,

- WORKING CONDITIONS,

PERSON WHO EDITED: NICOS EPISTITHIOU

LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR TOURISM

In Cyprus, a special Tourism Legislation framework has been passed to regulate and monitor the main providers of tourist services, as follows:

A The Hotel and Tourist Accommodation Laws of 1969 to 2000

Based on these laws, the following Regulations have been issued:

(a) The Hotel and Tourist Accommodation (General) Regulations of 1985 to 2000.

(b) The Hotel and Tourist Accommodation (Organised Apartments and Tourist Villages) Regulations of 1993 and 2000.

(d) The Hotel and Tourist Accommodation (Traditional Buildings) Regulations of 1993 and 2000.

(e) The Hotel and Tourist Accommodation (Tourist Camps) Regulations of 1977.

(f) The Hotel and Tourist Accommodation (Tourist Apartments) Regulations of 1985 to 2000.

These Laws regulate the establishment, classification and issuing of license, the operation of the businesses providing sleep on a commercial basis and the determination of the minimum standard of services, the employment of relatively trained staff to provide the services according to the classification of each Hotel, health and safety facilities (e.g. space and dimensions of rooms, apartments and other public areas) for each category and class of hotel businesses. They also set the minimum qualifications for hotel managers and regulate the relations between the hotels and the visitors (customers).

Β The Tourism and Travel Bureaus and Guides Laws of 1995 to (No.2) 2001

Based on these laws, the following Regulations have been issued:

(a) The Tourist Occupation and Association Regulations of 1980 to 1995.

This Law regulates the establishment, issuing of license and operation of Tourism and Travel Bureaus. It also regulates the offering of services by the existing offices to other member states of the European Union and the relations between the Tourism Bureaus and the Hotels.

The Law under reference also regulates the scheme of granting a business license to the tourist guides, their duties and control, as well as the operation of the Tourist Guide School.

C The Recreation Centre Laws of 1985 to 2000

Based on these laws, the following Regulations have been issued:

(a) The Recreation Centre Regulations of 1986 to 1999.

This Law regulates the establishment, classification and issuing of a license, and the operation of the catering and entertainment businesses on a commercial basis, and also sets the minimum standards of providing services and facilities for each category and class of catering and entertainment businesses.

· D The Public Swimming Pool Laws 55/1992

Based on this Law, the 1986 Public Swimming Pool Regulations have been issued, which regulate the creation and operation of public swimming pools.

A copy of the Tourism Legislation is available at www.visitcyprus.biz, which at the time being is only in Greek. In the near future there will be an English version.

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR TOURIST DEVELOPMENT 2003-2010

Cyprus, as an established natural tourist destination, could not remain unaffected in an environment of high competition or by the effect of globalisation and the maturity of the tourist market.

In order to face all these challenges and problems, having more than 30 years of experience, it is called upon to utilise all the experience and knowledge in a new beginning in the global tourist environment.

To reach this goal, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), in cooperation with the other tourism organisations, including the trade unions, proceeded to draft the 7-year Strategic Plan 2003 2010.

Based on the Strategic Plan, aims and priorities have been set to improve, develop and alter the tourist product of Cyprus, apart from "the sun and sea". The Plan aims at improving the provided services, increasing the spending of tourists, improving seasonality, increasing arrivals, increasing days of stay, increasing the repetitive tourism, promoting special interest tourism, promoting the Cypriot cuisine, developing the human resources and others.

From the implementation so far of the Plan, the first positive results have begun to appear and we hope that in the end Cyprus will find its place, the identity it deserves, on the world tourist map, as one of the best tourist destinations.

2. NATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS SECTORAL AGREEMENTS

Since 1960, immediately after the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and the termination of the British colonisation, the social partners agreed that, in order to review the contracts and terms of employment of the workers, they would follow the system of Free Collective Bargaining.

In order to solve labour disputes, either disputes regarding rights or interests, the social partners, after negotiations, reached a Basic Agreement in 1962, which regulated the ways of solving differences between employers and employees.

The Basic Agreement was in effect until 1974, when it was replaced by the Industrial Relations Code, which applies till today and is an improvement of the Basic Agreement.

As in other cases, in the sector of the Hotels and Restaurants in Cyprus National Sectoral Contracts are signed, which regulate the salaries and Terms of Employment in Hotels and Restaurants / Recreation Centres.

The negotiations are held between the employer associations, the Cyprus Hotel Association (PASYXE) and the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (ACTE-STEK) on the one hand, and the trade unions, the Cyprus Hotel Employees Federation (OEXEV-SEK) and the Hotel and Recreation Centre Employees' Trade Union (SYXKA-PEO) on the other hand, in the case of Hotels, and between the Federation of Associations of Recreation Centre Owners (OSIKA) and the trade unions OEXEV-SEK and SYXKA-PEO.

The Agreements signed have a two-year or three-year duration, according to the country's economy figures and the sector.

The Trade Unions and employers' associations aim at and have achieved the acceptance and implementation of the Collective Agreements by a large number of employers who are not their members.

3. NATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS BUSINESS AGREEMENTS

As mentioned above, in the main sectors represented by the Federation, National Sectoral Agreements are signed. However, there are cases where agreements are signed on an enterprise level, as for example the agreement with EUREST CYPRUS, two agreements which cover sports and educational centres for workers at the two large banks of Cyprus, the agreement with SBARRO, SODEXHO and a few others.

The terms of employment in all the aforementioned agreements are more or less on the same level as the National Sectoral Agreements, depending on the case.

4. RELATIONS OF THE FEDERATION ON A NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

The Federation of Hotel Industry Employees (OEXEV-SEK) is one of the seven occupational federations that are members of the Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK).

OEXEV-SEK, with 17,500 registered members, is the top association force in the Confederation. It participates in the General Council, the Executive Committee and the Occupational Bureau of the Confederation.

The Federation also participates in the Committees for the Conditions of Service in Hotels and Restaurants, (Hotels and Restaurants Terms of Employment Committees) the Board of Directors of the Higher Hotel Institute of Cyprus (AXIK), the Technical Education Committee of the Ministry of Education for tourist occupations, is a member of the Tourism Consulting Committee of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and the Federation's General Secretary, as well as other officers, are associate judges at the Labour Dispute Court.

Furthermore, the Federation maintains good relations with the other labour organisations and mainly with the similar organisations of SYXKA-PEO and ALLAGI-DEOK, with the sectoral and general employers organisations, as well as private educational institutions of tertiary education.

On a European level, the Federation is a member of the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism trade unions (EFFAT). The Federation's General Secretary Nicos Epistithiou is a deputy member of the Secretariat and an official member of EFFAT's Executive Committee. The Federation maintains good relations with all the trade union members of EFFAT in the sector of food and agriculture.

On an international level, the Federation is a member of the International Union of workers in agriculture, food, hotels, restaurants, tourism, tobacco and other relevant sectors (IUF).

The Federation's General Secretary Nicos Epistithiou is President of the Sectoral Council of Workers in Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism of IUF (HRCT Trade Group Board), is a member of the IUF Administrative and Executive Committee, and also participates in the Labour Technical Committee for Tourism issues of the International Labour Office (ILO).

5. PROTECTION OF WORKERS' REPRESENTATIVES (LOCAL COMMITTEES)

The representation of workers on the levels of the business, the region and the state was and still is in several countries a point of dispute between the labour and employer associations or even between the employees and the management.

In Cyprus, the trade union movement and especially the Cyprus Workers' Confederation (SEK), of which our Federation is a member since its establishment in1944, gave great importance to the protection of the workers' representatives on the enterprise level.

Today, the institution of the shop stewards is widely spread and is implemented in all the enterprises, with the exception of the small family enterprises that employ less than five persons.

In all agreements covering a large number of workers and especially the Collective Agreement that covers the terms of employment in hotels, there is a special provision for the institution of the Local Commissioners by which, not only is the institution of the workers' representation recognised, but depending on the number of employees, special permits for paid leave are granted to participate in the activities, events and seminars of the trade unions.

Furthermore, in the regulations for the operation of the Welfare Fund there is a special provision for the participation of the workers' representatives in the handling of the Fund on the enterprise level.

A special paid leave is also granted to the workers' representatives who are elected to the Managing Committee of the Provident Fund.

The workers' representatives, either elected on a local level or are trade unionists, are protected by the Trade Union Law and the Employees at Hotels and Restaurants Law, and the dismissal of anyone due to his/her trade union activity or membership is prohibited.

Despite the fact that the Republic of Cyprus has ratified Convention 135 and Recommendation 143 of the International Labour Office (ILO) and the Establishment of the European Works Council Law, till today there is no special legislation for the protection of the workers' representatives.

Since 1995 a bill for the protection of the Local Committees is pending before the Labour Consultative Body. Despite the fact that a special committee has been appointed to promote the issue, till today no progress has been made.

In order to facilitate the work of the Local Committees, SEK has issued regulations for the election and operation of the Local Committees.

For the training of the Local Committees and other trade union officers, SEK founded in 1978 the Trade Union School, from which over 7,000 persons have participated in training programmes until today, whether they are shop stewards or active officers.

6. SALARY DETERMINATION SYSTEM

Since Cyprus gained its independence in 1960 till today, the salaries and benefits of the employees are determined through free collective bargaining.

The only sectors, in which the salaries are determined by a Ministry of Labour order, after deliberations with the social partners, are the salespersons, the private clinic and hospital nurses, the school assistants and the secretaries.

In Cyprus, the institution of the Automatic Cost of Living Allowance Escalation (ATA) operates, which along with the basic salary determines the total remuneration of the employee.

However, in the hotels and restaurants, the final monthly salary comprises the basic salary, the cost of living allowance and the service rights.

The basic salary is determined through Collective Agreements. The Cost of Living Allowance is determined by the competent services of the state and the service right, which is 10% on the customer's bills, is determined and distributed to the staff based on the Employees at Hotels (Terms of Employment) Regulations and the Employees at Recreation Centres (Terms of Employment) Law. The service right is distributed among the staff at a rate agreed between the interested employers' and employees' organisations, and is approved by the Committees for the Conditions of Service in Hotels and Restaurants (Terms of Employment Committees).

With Cyprus' accession to the European Union and the free movement of workers, the Confederation (SEK), in its effort to stop the effort of the employers to exploit the Community workers and abolish collective agreements, and also to combat illicit competition between the employers, calls on the competent Ministry and the Government to regulate through legislation certain fundamental benefits, such as the salary, the working hours, the 13th salary and other social benefits, such as the Provident Fund.

Despite our efforts, we unfortunately have not achieved this yet.

In the Hotel and Restaurant sectors an effort is being made over the past few years to regulate through legislation the review of the terms of employment.

In general, one could say that in Cyprus there is no legal framework for the determination of salaries. Efforts are underway to pass a law regarding the protection of salaries.

7. WORKING CONDITIONS

The working conditions and terms of employment in Cyprus are determined through the Collective Agreements, the Hotel and Restaurant Committees for the Conditions of Service/Terms of Employment (in Hotels they are Regulations while in Restaurants/Recreation Centres they are Law) and International Conventions that the Republic of Cyprus has ratified, such as European Union Laws that have been incorporated in the Cypriot Legislation and International Labour Office (ILO) Convention 172 and recommendation 119.

The non-existence of a legal framework regulating all the terms and conditions of employment resulted in the regulation of these issues through Collective Agreements.

The existence of Condition of Service (Terms of Employment) Committees at Hotels and Restaurants, in which trade union representatives participate, will greatly help regulate the Terms and Conditions of Employment with the approval of the Work Descriptions that regulated the responsibilities and duties of each employee depending on the position he/she held. Furthermore, the classification of the various occupations in scales and the distribution of the service rights, which is the fruit of the Committees, helped determine the salaries of the employees and their categorisation in the various departments, depending on the responsibilities, knowledge and skills of each employee.

The introduction of occupational qualification levels in the future will contribute even more to improving the conditions and terms of employment.

The existence of the Industrial Relations Code also greatly helps both sides (employers and trade unions) to regulate the conditions and terms of employment that are not covered by the law or an agreement and are common understanding issues.

In the Agreements we sign in the sectors represented by the Federation, mainly the following are regulated:

Working hours and days off, rest hours, compensation for work during Sundays and holidays, overtime allowance, extraordinary work, annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, service calculation, warning/compensation in case of dismissal due to suspension of services, unsatisfactory work performance, internal regulations, uniforms, meal allowance, transportation, promotions, service rights, cost of living allowance, 13th salary, Easter bonus, Provident Fund, date of pay, retirement age, salary rises, salary scales and units from the service rights, salary super-additions, work contracts, part time employment, trade union facilities, trade union subscriptions, good relations joint committee, employers' rights and duration of agreement.

Until 1990, the needs in the labour market were covered by the local workforce. The dismissals and the change in staff observed after 1996 and the employment of foreign workforce, legal and not, and the accession of Cyprus to the European Union, and also the free movement of workers and their exploitation by a large number of employers, resulted in the deterioration instead of the improvement of the terms and conditions of employment. The signing of personal contracts by foreigners as well as some Cypriots, with terms below those of the Collective Agreements, causes huge problems in the efforts of the trade unions and their officers to safeguard and implement the Agreements.

Nicosia

August 31, 2005

GREECE. Report of the Pan-Hellenic Federation

Our participation in the Conference gives us the possibility to submit our report on the required subjects:

1. Framework Labour law on Greek Tourist Industry

Our country is governed by an extended legislation framework supplemented by the terms of Collective Labour Agreements covering industrial and labour relations it is self-evident that our aim is to enrich and improve this legal framework:

a) Re-employment of seasonal workers

b) Unemployment benefit is payable for 100 working days in a year

c) Five-days working week with 40 hours of weekly work

d) Severance pay after 2 months of employment

e) 20 days holidays and 13 daily wages allowance from the first year of employment for employees with open-ended contracts and 2 days holidays plus 2 days of wages allowance per month for employees under fixed-term contracts or seasonal workers,

f) Mandatory bonuses are payable: one month of salary at year-end and a half-monthly salary at Easter,

g) Social Security coverage: coverage in a social security fund for 25 days of contribution in a month, free health insurance coverage, participation by 25% for the supply of medicines, a lump sum equal to 20 monthly salaries for 20 years of service is granted by the social security fund to hotel employees, full retirement according to speciality and the number of paid contributions from 55 to 65 years of age.

2. Bargaining at national level covering all workers

The Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) is the trade union umbrella organization of Greece which negotiates and signs the National General Collective Labour Agreement with the Federation of Greek Industries (SEV), the General Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Tradesmen (GSEVEE) and the National Confederation of Greek Trader΄s Association (ESEE). In case of a negotiating stalemate the dispute will be resolved by the Organization for Mediation and Arbitration (OMED) which issues arbitration awards.

The National General Collective Agreement:

a. At economic level: sets minimum salaries and wages covering workers all over the country

b. At institutional level: fixes a wide range of institutional questions covering all workers throughout Greece

c. Payment of contributions for long-term unemployed is provided in the case of long-term unemployed with at least 12 consecutive months of unemployment, 5 years before they are entitled to full retirement they can claim the continuation of their social security coverage paid by a Fund called ΄΄Joint Account for Employment and Vocational Training'' (LAEK)

3. National bargaining in the Tourist Sector

The Panhellenic Federation of Catering and Tourist Industry Employees (POEE-YTE) negotiates and concludes the branch Collective Agreement with the Greek Federation of Hotel owners in case of failure to reach an agreement, OMED will issue an arbitration decision.

The branch agreement includes and fixes:

a) at economic level: salaries and benefits for hotel employees throughout the country above the minimum salary levels fixed by the National General Collective Agreement from 0,5% to 2%

b) at institutional level: includes the institutional framework of the National General Collective Agreement improved by additional gains resulting from negotiations

4. Regional- Prefectural Level

The industry or craft union in the region negotiates and signs- if a dispute occurs, the case will be resolved by OMED- the local labour agreement with the respective employers΄ organization in the region. This local agreement fixes:

a) at economic level: salaries and benefits for all hotel employees of the prefecture slightly improved by an increment above that set by the branch collective agreement

b) at institutional level: includes the institutional framework of the branch agreement supplemented by the institutional gains obtained during the negotiations

5. Enterprise level

The industry or craft union, company-level trade union negotiates and concludes the enterprise-level agreement with the company΄s Management. If they fail to reach an agreement, the case will be referred to OMED. This agreement sets:

a) at economic level: salaries and benefits for all the workers of the company slightly improved by an increment with regard to the branch agreement

b) at institutional level: includes the institutional framework of the branch agreement supplemented by institutional gains obtained during negotiations

6. National and International Relations

Our Federation comprises 130 industry or craft trade unions and is affiliated to the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) as well as to EFFAT and UITA. The Federation signs (4) four branch collective agreements covering the workers all over the country in tourism, catering, food canning and salting and confectionery industry.

7. Protection for trade union representatives

Law 1264/82 on the protection of trade unionists guarantees the right to freely exercise their trade union activities. The two articles which guarantee and facilitate trade union action are as follows:

Article 14: 1. The State bodies are obliged to take the proper measures in order to fully safeguard the right to establishment and autonomous functioning of trade union organizations.

2. prohibits the employers, their representatives or third persons to take or omit to take an action which could result in hindering the exercise of the workers΄ trade union rights

3. employers are not allowed to participate in a workers΄ trade union organization

4. the termination of an employment contract due to legal trade union action is invalid

5. the termination of an employment contract is invalid when it concerns:

a) the members of the trade union΄s administration according to article 92 of Greek Civil Code

b) the members of the temporary administration of a trade union organization according to article 79 of the Civil Code appointed by the Court under article 69 of Civil Code

c) The members of the administration who are temporarily elected during the establishment of a trade union organization. The prohibition is in force during the term of office and one year after its ending unless grave reason occurs under the procedures of article 15

8. The Law also protects:

The first 21 founding members of the first trade union organization to be set up in a company, establishment or occupational branch since the company where they work employs from 80 to 150 employees, 25 members if the company employs more than 150, 30 members if it employs above 300 and 40 members if it employs above 500 people. In case the number of employees is over 40 up to 80, 7 founding members are protected after the signature of the founding act.

The protection is valid for one year after that signature. If the trade union organization is not activated within 6 months after the signature of the founding act, the protection of the founding members is not valid.

Article 15: a committee on the protection of trade union officers exists composed of the President of the judges of first instance court in the region where the worker is employed or a judge of the court of first instance, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the region and in case that such a Chamber does not exist, of a workers΄ representative nominated by the most representative umbrella Confederation. The committee is appointed within the first 10 days of February each year.

Article 16: Democracy at the workplace

1. The right to work is protected by the State. The workers and their trade union organizations are protected while exercising their trade union rights at the workplace.

2. Trade unions are entitled to keep tables for announcing their targets and plans in the workplace and in venues agreed to by the employer and the unions΄ administration

3. Regular or extraordinary meetings of the most representative trade union organization take place outside working hours. The law requires the employers to give the appropriate venues in the workplace or outside the production site for these assemblies given that they have that possibility and that the establishment employs at least 80 employees. The employers with the above mentioned obligation could alternatively give or rent the proper venues within a distance of 1 kilometer from the workplace,

4. Requires the employer or his/her representative to be in contact with the trade union representatives meeting them, at their request, at least once a month to discuss and solve workers΄ problems,

5. Requires the employer who employs more than 100 people to give appropriate offices in the workplace to the most representative trade union organization of the company in order to carry out their trade union tasks within the framework of the employer΄s overall ability

6. All trade union structures are entitled to disseminate and distribute information material at the workplace outside working hours

7. Representatives of the Administrative Board of the company΄s trade union or, in case a union does not exist, of the Regional Labour Center have the right to be present in the inspections conducted by the competent bodies of Labour Ministry and submit their comments and observations,

8. The competent Labour Inspector will decide, in case a disagreement on points 2, 3, 5 and 7 of this article occurs, within 10 days after the employer΄s or the trade union΄s recourse to him. If the employer does not comply with the Inspector΄s decision, the latter imposes a fine for violating the provisions of this Article and for non-compliance of the employer ranging from 15 to 300 euros to be collected according the provisions of KEDE on behalf of Ergatiki Estia (Employees΄ Fund),

9. The employer has the right to take legal action against the Inspector΄s decision to impose a fine.

Article 17: Leave for trade union work (as amended by article 6, Law 2224/94)

1. Requires the employer to facilitate the members of administrative boards or control committees and the industry or craft union΄s representatives in Federations and Regional Labour Centers in their trade union work. The same applies for the administrative boards, control committees and the Federation and Legional Labour Centres΄ representatives in the umbrella Confederation as well as for the administrative boards and control committees of the umbrella Confederations.

2. Requires the employer to give:

15 days paid leave per month to a) the Administration members of the most representative umbrella Confederation for their term of office b) the President of the Regional Labour Centers and Federations given that the industry or craft unions affiliated to them have up to 1500 voting members c) the President of Regional Labour Centers and Federations given that the industry and craft unions affiliated to them have from 1501 to 10000 voting members during their term of office, d) the President and the General Secretary of Regional Labour Centers and Federations given that the organizations affiliated to them have more than 10000 voting members during their term of office,

2. The committee of article 15 of the same law decides on every dispute with regard to the implementation of this article΄s provisions at the request of one or the other part

Article 18 on the regulation of trade union rights

1. The provisions of articles 14,15,16, 17 constitute minimum trade union rights

2. More favorable regulations on the exercise of the already acquired rights or those to be acquired based on an agreement between workers and employers or on Collective Agreements or Arbitration decisions have precedence over others.

8. Legislation on Remuneration Labour Market

Pay levels in our sector are fixed by Branch Collective Agreements negotiated and signed by our Federation.

The workers with open-ended contracts and seasonal workers receive monthly remuneration (salary).

Waiters and their assistants in restaurants and confectioneries have a 13% and 16% percentage respectively on total receipts.

For the EXTRA employed there is a daily wage.

The labour market in the regions of our country with regard to our sector comprises 80% of seasonal workers during summer with a duration from 4 to 7 months.

In the two urban centers Athens-Thessaloniki the operation of tourist units, to a big extent, is continuous but, at the same time, a high

unemployment rate equal to 10% is registered in our sector.

The absorption of graduates from Tourism Schools presents a serious problem only 20%-. Hotel owners consider that higher pay levels of graduates 10% allowance, the capacity of the white-collar worker, higher compensation in case of dismissal increase labour cost and are not in their interest, hence by overlooking the lack of quality of tourist services provided by unskilled staff they lower the quality of tourist product with a negative impact on the tourist arrival figures in our country.

10. Working conditions

In the majority of workplaces in hotels and restaurants a violation of labour legislation and collective labour agreements is recorded.

The lack of controls from the part of state control mechanisms due to inefficient staffing but also, in certain cases, their manipulation by the entrepreneur΄s active in the tourist sector, allows employers to breach the law.

Our trade unionists across the country visit workplaces, meet the workers and discuss with them, register facts and try through their interventions to the competent control mechanisms and the Labour Ministry, to achieve the implementation of labour legislation and collective agreements.

We wish every success to the Conference

· FRANCE: COUNTRY REPORT

Please, see Annex 1, document C
CHAPTER TWO: Specific contributions on Immigration and Seasonality
ITALY. Immigration and insertion into the tourism labour market

When we speak of immigration, the first image that comes to mind, which we see every day in the media, is that of illegal landings, craft of opportunity with their load of desperate people fleeing from their country of origin in search of wellbeing, which, more often than not, is but a mirage.

These are images depicting a huge problem that afflicts us inasmuch as we feel powerless and unable to offer immediate and effective solutions.

Unfortunately, we are becoming victims of these images and of the news that often talk to us about immigrants involved in criminal activities or about fundamentalist infiltrations. All this makes our prejudices grow and causes us to ignore the complex and fascinating reality that surrounds us.

This is a phenomenon that has transformed our country and enriched it, not only by importing experiences and cultures from the East, Africa and Latin America, but especially by giving a positive thrust and by contributing to our economic and social life.

It is a fact that certain humble occupations are no longer accepted by Italian workers and are left to foreign workers. Some figures can help us to understand just how significant the presence of immigrants is. At the beginning of 2004, some 2,500,000 foreigners lived in Italy, accounting for about 5% of the resident population.

Most of these people are active in the labour market; they are employed not only as domestic help but also in the areas of tourism, construction, cleaning services and farming. Moreover, many of these immigrant workers are self-employed and others still have become business owners.

Many of these workers have found financial stability and wellbeing, such as they were not likely to find in their countries of origin. They have been reunited with their families and enjoy the same rights as Italian citizens. According to a survey conducted by Western Union, the average per capita income of immigrants in Italy at the end of 2003 was estimated to amount to some 10/12,000 euro a year.

According to the Labour Ministry, increased employment in Italy΄s labour market is to be ascribed, on the one hand, to the reform of the labour market and, on the other hand, to the effects of the regularization of migration flows, as per Act n. 394 of 31 August 1999, the so-called Bossi-Fini Act, and Consolidation Act on Immigration n.189/2002.

Indeed, these pieces of legislation regulate migration flows and govern entry visas, family reunification procedures, residence permits and papers, expulsion measures, special re-entry authorizations, lists of foreigners who intend to work in Italy, entries for reasons relating to studies and research.

The law also envisages very strict provisions for the writing of work contracts, which also apply to seasonal, subordinate and autonomous work, as well as entry quotas for work reasons, which are defined at regional level and must also take into account labour demand at the local level.

Art. 24-paragraph 4 of the law on immigration also envisages precedence whereby ΄΄a seasonal worker who has met the established conditions, and has returned to his/her home country once his/her visa has expired, has priority for entry the following year, always to perform seasonal work; this also applies if his/her request is at the bottom of the list and is preceded by other applications previously submitted by other people.''

Immigrant workers who supply labour and register with Employment Agencies are constantly on the rise and, at the same time, represent what has now become an indispensable segment of employment especially in some industries, such as tourism on account of some features that characterize it.

According to Censis figures, 115,000 immigrants were employed for seasonal work in 2004; there is an ever increasing demand for non-EU labour, a large portion of which over 45% - is employed in the tourism industry.

In the past two years, however, there has been a slight drop in the employment of seasonal workers, as a result of the negative economic trend and lower income of households. Enterprises operating in the hotel industry, where most seasonal workers are employed, are not investing in summer labour on account of the evident drop in tourism caused by a decrease in the income of Italians.

The social partners of the tourism industry do not have sure indicators that can measure the extent to which enterprises ΄΄prefer'' non-EU labour as opposed to Italian workers, but it is an indisputable fact that certain types of work are always done by the former, probably for the reasons mentioned above.

Trade union Organizations FILCAMS-FISASCAT-UILTUCS participate in the technical forum set up by the Labour Ministry, one of whose objectives is to monitor the flows or immigrant seasonal workers primarily into the manufacturing, farming, construction and tourism industries. It is an important institutional body where the social partners of the various production industries, including tourism, have the opportunity to analyze the trend of fixed-term employment. However, it is limited by the fact that the discussion is based exclusively on official figures coming from the formal requests submitted by enterprises to the Provincial Labour Directorates concerned, while the actual situation of the market - where, unfortunately, there is still a lot of illegal and irregular labour - is not analyzed.

During recent meetings, as trade union Organizations we have highlighted a contradiction in the data we received, for the induction of workers from newly-EU member states is limited compared to the jobs available (28.006 out of 79.500), while most of the hired workers turn out to be non-EU immigrants.

There are surely many possible explanations for this, but as a trade union we believe that workers from newly-EU member states are more aware of their labour rights and more inclined to turn to trade unions than workers who come from non-EU countries.

Furthermore, trade union Organizations have asked the Labour Ministry to provide more thorough data on non-EU workers, also broken down by industry. Indeed, there are still no official figures on the actual employment of non-EU workers in the tourism industry.

Indeed, only some figures provided by various bodies or institutes are currently available.

The data that best describe the actual situation are provided by Unioncamere (Source: Labour Ministry. Excelsior IT system, 2004), which makes annual forecasts both for the professions that are most in demand in the labour market and on quantitative trends.

Below are the most recent figures on non-EU workers, which refer to 2004:

	TOTAL N. OF WORKERS HIRED	IN COMPANIES WITH LESS THAT 15 EMPLOYEES	WITHOUT SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE
Waiters, cafeteria staff and assimilated jobs	8,935	48.6%	64.4%
Cooks and staff responsible for preparing food	2,120	71.8%	26.7%
Bartenders and assimilated jobs	1,742	76.8%	42.2%
Unskilled workers employed in the tourism industry	2,647	85.8%	66.3

Source: Unioncamere Labour Ministry, Excelsior IT system, 2004

The figures do not take into account the hotel and tourism services sector in general, which instead employs many non-EU workers; but according to the macro item ΄΄Hotels, restaurants and tourism services'', out of the 195,009 workers hired in 2004, 18,059 were employed in this sector.

Yet another factor that worries trade union Organizations is that there is very little knowledge about the educational qualifications of non-EU seasonal workers, what professional skills they have and, consequently, what type of training they need.

Employers, however, do not seem to be very concerned about this, if one considers that in 2000, 65% of seasonal workers were young people aged between 18 and 35, hired by small and medium enterprises (Source: XI Caritas Report, 2001). Another aspect that seems to confirm the trend is the wage differential between non-EU and Italian dependent workers. The data provided by the National Social Security Institute (INPS) reveal that in 2003, in the ΄΄hotels-restaurants'' sector, this differential was equivalent to 10 percentage points over the wages earned by the total labour employed in the sector (Source: INPS Annual report 2004).

Therefore, it appears that labour demand in the tourism industry is indeed characterized by a low educational level or professional skills that are not closely related with tourism activities.

For trade union Organizations, the most urgent problem to solve is that thousands of immigrant workers are employed by companies that do not enforce trade union rights and it is difficult to have a reliable census on such workers because they silently accept to work illegally.

However, the system of Bilateralism, which strongly characterizes the system of trade union relations in the tourism industry, also offers non-EU seasonal workers the opportunity to access training courses of a general nature such as Italian classes as well as on specific subjects relating to the professions required (Source: Caritas statistical dossier on Cnel contracts archive 2003).

It is precisely through the system of bilateral bodies at local, regional and national level that it is possible to identify the needs for protection and rights of these workers and to favour their insertion into the labour market. The system is based on Observers who also have the task to constantly monitor the employment trend, identify possible problems and follow the trend of geographical mobility.

Various collective agreements established at the local level envisage the broad participation of immigrants in vocational training courses to become cook, waiter, pizza maker, receptionist. This has allowed many workers to learn a new trade and acquire new professional skills thanks to which they are currently inserted into the labour market of a friendly Country and which may turn out to be useful in the future when they return to their country of origin.

The contractual rights of workers in the tourism, services and tertiary sectors are equal for Italian and immigrant workers.

Although Italian legislation goes beyond differences and attempts to fully integrate immigrant workers into society, trying to provide them with access to the health care system, spaces where to practice their religion, the right to education for their children, safeguarding their beliefs, habits and customs, there are still many problems to overcome, such as housing.

Therefore, the role of trade union Organization must be to give greater protection to immigrant workers in the tourism industry.

Another aspect which the social partners need to be more specific about is the right of precedence, so as to not create discrimination, in one way or another. The next opportunity will be provided by the renewal of the National Collective Agreement for Labour in the Tourism Industry, which will expire at the end of the year and will engage the social partners in the forthcoming months.

ITALY: Seasonality

Please see Annex 1, document A

SPAIN: Immigration and the hotel and catering sector

In order to better understand the situation of the Hotel and Catering Sector in Spain, there are some facts that need to be highlighted: the contribution of this sector to the Spanish economy represents roughly 11.2% of the GDP, and it groups more than 1,810,000 employees working in 300,000 companies approximately. It is obvious that we are talking about one of the basic pillars of the Spanish economy, regarding both employment and sources of income.

This sector is made up mainly of small companies, the so-called SMEs, and, obviously, some big hotel chains, some independent hotels and many hostels and guesthouses run by family-owned companies. Regarding the sector of catering and collective canteens, big companies are rare and it is mostly made up of small business where family work is a key component, which means a great fragmentation. In fact, 124,139 companies out of the aforementioned number of 300,000 have no wage-earners, and 121,337 are companies which have between 1 and 5 workers.

Another important factor to take into account is the seasonability of the sector in many places of the Spanish geography, particularly on the Mediterranean area and the Balearic and Canary archipelagos, which means a constant necessity of seasonal workers and intermittent permanent employees. Both groups of workers depend to a great extend on the development of the tourist seasons and on the situation of the economy, since they are only engaged for a certain season and then back again on the following year; these workers get sometimes unemployment benefit in between, and sometimes they do not. Regarding employment, the seasonability of the sector represents 39% or 41%, which are quite high figures that, in my opinion, should be cut down, and that is the reason why social agents are negotiating with the executive and the employers.

Due to all these facts, the hotel and catering sector is seen as the ΄΄passing sector'' where workers do not need great qualifications or experience to get in, and they come with the hope of jumping to another sector with better working conditions. Therefore, there are lots of young people who get their first job in this sector, many of them hoping to leave it in a short period of time and go to work in the industry, the construction, other services, the administration, etc. The sector also acts as a ΄΄shelter'' when you are unemployed and need urgently to get a job.

This situation is not exclusive to Spain, it is also present in most of the so-called old Europe, particularly in the countries on the Mediterranean area. On our opinion, the main reasons for this situation are the working conditions- deregulation of working hours, excess of working hours, working on bank holidays, seasonability, low salaries, etc.

Within this context, the sector is also a good lure and an acceptable ΄΄shelter'' for the first access to the labour market of the immigrant population, due mainly to the fact that jobs can be obtained easily, which allows these people to work here on a regular basis and/or to get their first job in order to legalize their situation in case of irregular workers.

The latest data obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Labour confirm the situation, since, for instance, 197,729 people out of the total number of foreign workers registered in the National Insurance at June 30^th 2005 work in the Hotel and Catering Sector, which means 19.28 % of the total. The data are also clearly different all over the country, with 45,066, 37,943, 22,792, 21,237, 19,939, and 18,249 workers in Catalonia, Madrid, the Valencian Community, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia respectively. This confirms the importance and the growing trend towards immigrant employment on the Mediterranean area, since all the aforementioned provinces belong to this area, except for Madrid for obvious reasons, as it is the capital-, and the Canary Islands because of its importance in tourism.

We must also pay attention to, and study from the trade union point of view, the latest extraordinary process of Regularization of Immigrants carried out by the Spanish Government. Ten percent of the 690,679 cases belong to the Hotel and Catering sector, which indicates a clear upward trend of the sector as an employment source for this labour force.

The arrival of immigrants to Spain, either in a regular or irregular administrative situation, is a consolidated social fact, and it will still be in a future, even if immigration laws become more restrictive.

Current migratory movements cannot be dissociated from the economical, social and political situation of the countries of origin. Regarding most of the individual migratory projects, we would have to refer not to a call effect, but to a flight effect in search of decent life conditions and social participation. That is the point that our work as trade union and social organisations should cover, focusing again on the solidarity principles and the fight for the union of all workers, and not forgetting that what makes workers weaker is the existence of population segments with worse conditions and with no guarantee of their working rights.

The Spanish trade unions are aware of the commitment that we have, as union organisations, towards immigration, since these workers are becoming more vulnerable, unprotected and submissive, quickly replaced by workers of other nationalities when the former begin to be aware of and exercise their rights, and when employers are no longer able to undermine the other worker΄s labour conditions, with the implicit or explicit support from the Administration.

This kind of behaviour is not new, and we have always reacted claiming for equal conditions of all workers, regardless of their origin, both within the sectors and the companies, either through negotiation or with concrete actions, and that is what we are determined to continue with.

Therefore, we must not only offer advise by means of documentation, but we must also get closer to immigrant workers -and to all workers in general, since we ask for equal treatment, try to know their specificities better with the support of our colleagues at the guide centres, and make them aware of what the union organisations΄ aims are, taking into account that the social and labour reality in their countries may be quite different from that of Spain.

Always respecting their cultural differences, we must strengthen our effort towards the planning of specific actions to make them be part of our union action, to train union delegates on intercultural mediation, to encourage immigrant workers to act as union delegates, thus fostering their actual incorporation to trade unions and serving as an example and incentive to encourage other workers to do the same, and to fight for the improvement of their working conditions.

One of the measures should be collective bargaining, where the reality of immigrant workers should be covered by specific clauses. We, the Spanish trade unions, are already including theses clauses gradually, since the precariousness of the labour market and the non application of the agreements is a fraudulent business practice prior to the incorporation of immigrants to our labour market, and they suffer this situation because of their special vulnerability.

On the other hand, we must foster even more the progressive incorporation of immigrant workers to the union structure. This should be an intrinsic objective of our activity, since our projects, objectives, policies, etc. would be carried out easier, and the defence of their interests and demands would be extended and transferred to the tables of collective bargaining. This way of acting has already been put into practice by the Spanish trade unions.

This objective is not easy at all, due to the excessive fragmentation of the sector, which is also divided into several subsectors with different types of activity: all kind of accommodation, hotels, lodging houses, campsites, restaurants, canteens, bars and establishments providing food in general, etc. We can observe a great diversity regarding the size of the companies that make up the sector, which makes it difficult for us as social agents to control the performance of collective agreements, labour regulations or rules on occupational risk prevention, particularly when dealing with the smallest companies.

That is the reason why we should stress more intensively the need of campaigns on labour and trade union information towards those workers, with the aim of obtaining a strong unionization in this group. Our organizations have usually cared more for social aspects than for strictly labour aspects, but we have to bear in mind that a satisfactory integration into work life would lead to a social and economical integration in the receiving country.

It is also necessary that European social agents fight actively against the currents of opinion supported by conservative sources that make the public opinion think that immigrants are a problem. We need to prove that an organized and regulated immigration, in social and economical terms, has positive effects, such as:

Diversity of the working force.
Rejuvenation of the population
Economical growth without inflationary strains.
Population becomes more diverse and dynamic in cultural terms
Contribution to the National Insurance and Tax Authorities.

It becomes essential that trade union organizations establish constant ways of dialogue and collaboration with the associations of immigrants, some of them more organized than others, since those organizations need trade union structures to fight more strongly and coherently for recognition of their rights, which would be useful for all.

All in all, international trade unions, and particularly European ones, are facing a big labour and social challenge the defence of the labour rights and the integration of a immigrant population that is more and more present on the Mediterranean area, and that has been obviously attracted by the ΄΄tourist'' factor as an engine for economical and social development. This challenge is already been addressed within several international legal frameworks and/or by several resolutions made by our trans-national associations, such as:

ILO Conventions 97 and 143.
United Nations Conventions on protection of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
ICFTU resolution ΄΄Fighting Discrimination and Achieving Equality'', of December 2004.
ICFTU / IROW 8th Congress Resolution ΄΄Solidarity with Migrant Workers''.

SPAIN: Seasonability in the hotel and catering sector and in tourism

The countries located along the Mediterranean coast are, as a whole, the first global tourist destination. During the past few years, they have been visited by 240 million international tourists, and we have to add up to that figure the national tourist in each country. Coastal areas receive almost 200 million tourists every year, on top of the 140 million inhabitants already living on the coastal regions. This concentration both in space and time, provoked by the high seasonality existing in tourism, affects the territory to a high extend.

A big part of the aforementioned tourists visit Spain: 53 million approximately, according to the government΄s estimates for the year 2005, most of which concentrate in certain months, particularly July, August and September.

This situation of seasonality was, for a long time, a factor contributing to the economical development and growth of the country, due to foreign exchange receipts, which helped to have a healthy balance of payments. But the situation is nowadays being analysed with worry by the Regional Governments of some Autonomous Communities and by the National Government in Spain. The bad policies on economical development led to a situation of mass tourism, which grew without control, and the competition among tourist companies was just based on the price. This caused a situation of monoproduction and that is the reason why certain regions on this area depend exclusively on tourism and on the services related to it.

Mass tourism is, to a certain extend, responsible of the environmental issues that some of these regions are suffering, particularly those of intensive urban development, pollution, or excessive consumption of resources, mainly during peak seasons. The situation has become unbearable from the ecological point of view, and it causes social tensions such as conflicts for water between the Spanish inland regions and the coastal ones, or the depletion of ecosystems on the Islands.

This important sector to Spain depends not only on the supply and demand, but as well on some exogenous factors such as wars on a specific geographical area, either close or not to the country in question, or economic recession in tourist issuing countries, or the search of new destinations by Tour-operators, pushing until exhaustion for a decrease on prices. We can observe that the stagnation of the economy in countries such as England, France and German is especially remarkable when tourists arrive from the above mentioned countries. Since the year 1999, Spain has lost nearly two million tourists from Germany, which was one of the main issuing countries, and overnight stays are also decreasing. The average stay has been reduced to 10 days, which means 6.7% less than last year.

Some other consequences of the seasonality, which the Spanish trade unions are very worried about, are the excessive staff rotation, the high number of part-time contracts permanent contracts are becoming rare-, and the instability of the working market in the sector. The average of this kind of contracts in Spain is 34%, which means more than twice the average in the European Community. From the social protection point of view, this means that the productive process has many problems for these workers, such as short contribution periods, with the subsequent difficulties to receive unemployment benefits, retirement pensions, etc., and the Estate has also problems, since the income from social and company contributions is decreasing on those areas, whereas the so-called social expenditure is increasing.

The deprofessionalisation of the sector is also a clear consequence of seasonality, since the instability of the working market attracts poorly trained workers that are sometimes willing to leave this sector and go to a more ΄΄comfortable'' one from the working point of view, such as the industrial sector, or some other workers that come to the Hotel and Catering Sector and the Tourist Sector in general just looking for a temporary job for which they do not need specific training. This is the case in Spain, for instance, of immigrants, young people in search of their first job, etc. Businessmen have not paid attention to this problem until recently, but they are now complaining about the poor qualification of their staff in comparison with the big investments they need to make.

This causes an extra pressure for social agents operating in Spain, since these groups are usually forced to work with poorer economic and working conditions than those agreed by Collective Bargaining. This is so because the supervision function becomes very complicated due to the fragmentation of the sector, with thousands of small companies spread all over the country.

Today, statistics are proving that seasonality is still present, despite the efforts to diversify the supply or to enlarge markets. Instead of demanding more periods during the year, seasons are getting smaller, so we can deduce that this market is approaching an end, or at least that it is going through a recession period. Why can we say that? We only need to have a look at the statistics given by the Government to notice that, even though the number of tourists coming to Spain is slightly higher every year, they stay less time and spend less money. According to official data from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, income from tourism is stagnated, despite the strong increase on the number of visitors, which went over 5% until May. According to their estimates, this year will mean a new record in the number of tourists, which could reach up to 54 million. Nevertheless, it seems difficult to exceed the 36,000 million euro of 2004.

Up to today there has been a decrease of the average expenditure per tourist, -838 euros per person as an average-, according to the latest data from Egatur, which means 3.6 % less than last year. Exceltur (Association of hotel operators and Iberia) also considers that there will be an increase in the number of tourists of 2.6 % in 2005, although with shorter stays and less average expenditure per tourist, which would mean a real decrease of 5 %.

The Ministry of Industry considers essential that tourists increase their expenditure to re-balance the sector΄s surplus. As a matter of fact, during the first three months of the year, tourism has only paid for 27 % of the trade deficit, whereas in 2002 this figure went up to 81%. In Spain, benefits obtained from tourism have decreased more than 1,200 million, with a tourism surplus of 28,300 million in 2004. During the first three months of the year, it has decreased 13.2 %, up to 4,087 million, according to data from the Bank of Spain. This is so because the income from tourists΄ expenditure increased only 1%, whereas the expenditure of the Spanish abroad has gone up to 21%. This has also been the trend this year, with a decrease in the surplus of 4.3%. This deterioration has affected negatively the current account foreign deficit, which has increased 168 % from the beginning of the year.

Another consequence from the seasonality in the sector is a strong de-investment, since operators and businessmen export this model to other destinations, where urban, ecological and working rules do not exist or are minimal, thus leading to business relocations. On the Spanish coastal area, there is a big pressure from the real estate sector over the hotel sector to build up second residence tourism; if this trend continues, thousands of positions would be in danger. Nearly a third of the properties sold on the coast area have been purchased by foreigners. As a matter of fact, until May, 58% of the foreigners had not used a tourist package, and the number of visitors that did not stay in a hotel increased nearly 9%.

All in all, Spanish trade union organisations have always claimed for the need of decreasing seasonality in the sector, adopting the following measures:

1 Promoting the re-structuring of tourists spaces on the Mediterranean area, preserving both the natural and cultural heritage. Including in a global strategy those countries living on the fringes of the tourist process and the inland regions that are usually undervalued and subordinated with regards to the coastline.

2 Diversifying and differentiating tourist destinations, avoiding standardization, and promoting the peculiarities of an area with a new tourist offer which joins culture, nature, entertainment and tourist, and in which the territory becomes a key element.

3 Avoiding the comparison ΄΄accommodation = tourist destination'', offering integrated tourist products with cultural interest, taking into account the possibilities of the landscape, open to the region and the society, specially on the coastline, avoiding the creation of closed tourist resorts and the privatization of the coastal regions.

4 To reduce seasonality spreading the advantages of visiting the Mediterranean during low season months, and adapting the equipment supply to the tourists products. Developing alternative tourism, apart from the traditional sun and beach tourism, such as cultural, rural, ecological, urban, for congresses, etc.

5 And last but not least, it would be necessary to have a permanent dialogue between the public administrations operating in different fields, both at the regional and national level, and the social agents, in order to study and create restructuring plans for a sector that is going through a crisis, or at least that needs to be observed due to the strong structuring weaknesses it has.

CYPRUS: State report on seasonality and its consequences on the economy and employment

On the world tourist map and in tourism in general, seasonality is one of the most serious problems faced by tourist destinations that have been or are focused on and have invested in forms of tourism that do not offer the visitor alternative forms of holidays.

For example, Mediterranean countries, including Cyprus, witnessed a rapid tourist development in the 1980s with their main tourist product being the sun and sea.

The Republic of Cyprus, after the Turkish invasion in July 1974, had set a target to reactivate its economy in order to overcome the problems of the invasion and the displacement of about a third of its population. The government had then encouraged and loaned investments in the tourist sector. Thus an economic and tourist boom occurred, since Cyprus was an attractive destination for tourists mainly from the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries. The tourist peak period began at the beginning of March and ended in mid November in the areas of Ayia Napa and Protaras, while other regions did not face a seasonality problem to a great extent, so the hotels of those areas did not postpone their services.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the activation of Eastern European countries in the tourism sector as new tourist destinations, such as Croatia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Russia and others, the end of the civil war in Lebanon and the development of new tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Basis, such as Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey, as well as the reestablishment of Egypt on the tourist map of the Mediterranean, things began to deteriorate.

The globalisation of the economy, the liberalisation of flights, international competition and the establishment of multinational companies in the Mediterranean area resulted in shortening the tourist period and lengthening the period of postponing hotel services, not only in Ayia Napa and Protaras, but also in Paphos and other areas to a smaller extent.

The difference in the standard of living of the aforementioned countries in relation to Cyprus gives them the ability to offer tourist packages at lower and attractive prices. If we take into consideration the shuffling in the European region in relation to tour operators, such as merges and the buying out of companies, the European tourist market has changed.

Tour operators, in an effort to maximise or stabilise their profit, have turned their attention to new tourist destinations, despite the fact that the level of provided services is lower than that of Cyprus, as they themselves admit.

If one examines the problems arising in the economy of the country due to seasonality, these vary and are huge.

Investments worth billions of pounds remain unexploited for a long period of time, thus negatively affecting the economy of the country, since the tourism industry and generally the tertiary sector, based on 2004 figures, is the backbone of the economy, contributing 76.5% to the GDP and 71.9% to the employment of the actively employed population.

Seasonality and international competition have led to illicit competition between the investors, which resulted in reducing income from tourism, even in cases where there has been an increase in arrivals.

The reduction of income from tourism makes it extremely difficult for the investors in the sector to pay off their loans, which leads to buy-outs or merges of businesses in an effort to reduce operational costs.

Seasonality has its negative effects in the employment sector too. Efforts to tackle international competition and maintain company profits led at a first stage to the dismissal of a large number of hotel employees with many years of service and skills, under the pretext of redundancy.

The non-maintenance of the relation between the employer and the employee, the non-safeguarding of permanent and stable jobs, the non-existence of promotion prospects, low wages offered through personal contracts and seasonal employment are negative elements of employment in the Cyprus tourism sector.

The inverse effects in the employment sector, mainly due to seasonality, whether it is the total or partial postponement of hotel services or even the cases of some hotels staying open during the winter season with low complement, appear in studies carried out regarding the hetero-employment of graduates from the Cyprus Higher Hotel Institute (AXIK), the branch of hotel orientation of technical schools and the training programmes of the Human Resources Development Authority.

In the case of AXIK, over 30% of the graduates are hetero-employed, while in the case of the technical schools the percentage of graduates remaining in the industry is below 10%. Not much interest is shown to the Human Resources Development Authority programmes, leading to many being postponed or cancelled.

Despite the positive actions on behalf of the trade unions to maintain the staff in the industry on a long-term basis, in order to create permanent and stable jobs, and despite the conveniences and concessions made by the workers and the state to the industry, it was not possible to tackle the problem of seasonality.

Specifically, the workers and the trade unions had accepted the six-day working week for a period up to 39 per year and conceded to postponing semi-holidays on the 1:1 basis instead of overtime, changing the method of compensation of work during holidays and Sundays from money to time off. They also accepted the calculation of the service right at £8.75 and not the average of the past 12 months, as the collective agreement provided for.

In an effort to help the industry even more in tackling competition, in November 2003 the trade unions agreed with the employers, in the presence of the Minister of Labour, to abolish the employer's obligation to pay 25% of the basic salary and cost of living allowance during the postponement of services period and replace it with 2.8% on the basic salary and cost of living allowance, taken that all the rights of the employee were safeguarded during the postponement period.

Unfortunately, the employers did not honour their signature, which resulted in worsening the problem for the employees and minimising the consequences of postponing the services for the employers. The problem is before the Ministry of Labour and no progress is being made due to the intransigence of the employers, which may lead to a labour dispute.

The employment of persons for a short period of time, around six months, and their registration for the remaining period in the unemployment fund has resulted in reducing the standard of living of those persons and their dependents, with a visible danger of becoming socially excluded.

Based on figures by the Social Insurance Statistical Service, the number of persons affected by the postponement of services is growing, as are the amounts paid out by the competent department of the Ministry in the form of unemployment allowances.

In order to face the tourism industry crisis of the country, the government in the early 2010s, in cooperation with the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), which is under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, and other international organisations and the social partners in Cyprus, proceeded to draft the Tourism Strategic Plan.

In this Plan, the weaknesses of Cyprus' tourist product are found and emphasis is given to the sectors of the tourist product that should be given priority or changed. For example, the Plan provides for aims to identify Cyprus' tourist product, the creation of marinas and golf courses, the development of special tourist interests, the attraction of qualitative tourism with persons from high-income classes, the promotion of Cypriot cuisine and culture, the improvement of the tourism infrastructure of the country, such as airports, communications network, archaeological sites, the improvement and development of the human workforce of the industry and others.

Despite the difficulties observed, the results so far are considered to be satisfactory.

In order to tackle the problem of seasonality, the government proceeded to fund tour operators with the amount of £20.00 for each additional tourist they would bring during the winter season compared to the 2002 winter season.

We, as the labour side and members of the Tourism Consultative Committee, through the strategic plan and the other actions of the state, give tremendous attention to developing the human workforce and request that apart from the other actions, we proceed to create a staff structure in the hotels and begin a continuous social dialogue to tackle the problems, because otherwise the danger of mortgaging the future of the industry and the economy of the country in broader terms will be in any hands except those of the Cypriots.

Thank you.

Nicosia

September 29, 2005

OEXEVA380-7/05

CYPRUS: State report on economic immigration

The problem of economic immigrants is one that is of concern to almost all developed or developing countries over the past fifteen years and not only. This phenomenon is present even in the poor countries, where people without work or people who have work and are seeking to secure legal or illegal employment in another country, expecting higher wages and better working conditions.

The globalisation of the economy, the intense competition, the creation and development of multinational companies, the level of training and education in developing and developed countries, the improvement of the standard of living and education of citizens of poor or underdeveloped countries, and the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, were and still are the main factors that forced and are still forcing persons or families to seek employment in a country other than that of their origin.

In Cyprus until 1990 the employment of foreign nationals was on low levels and did not affect the labour market in any manner, since it concerned persons with a specialisation in their sector, who were employed mainly in managerial or middle-management positions.

In the hotel and restaurant sectors in 1990 no more than 150 people were employed and these were mainly chefs, hotel managers and barmaids.

With the growth of the Cypriot economy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was an "overheating" of the economy and a lack of working hands was apparent in almost all sectors of the economy.

The improvement of the salaries and employment terms, as well as the introduction of new technology, had encouraged persons with academic qualifications and mainly women to join the labour market.

This led to the increase of demand for home assistants, since almost all couples were employed, both the husband and wife.

The employers and their organisations, in an effort to cover their needs in workforce and to maintain their production costs low, were exerting pressure on the government to allow the import and employment of persons from other countries.

The country's trade unions and mainly the Cyprus Workers' Confederation (SEK), of which we are members, set their main aim as being the protection of the Cypriot workers and the foreigners who would be employed in our country.

The government, having in mind the positions of the social partners, in 1991 proceeded to approve at the Council of Ministers (cabinet) a set of criteria that would regulate the employment of foreigners in Cyprus. It is worth noting that the Council of Ministers decision said that 1,500 persons would be employed in all sectors of the economy and would be distributed as follows:

v Hotels 600 persons,

v Construction 500 persons,

v Clothes - Shoes 400 persons.

According to the criteria, the employment of foreigners would be allowed:

Α. in specialised professional categories, where there would also be Cypriots who would be trained to replace the foreigners,

Β. where the employment of foreigners would help increase productivity,

C. for the implementation of new technology and new methods of better utilisation of the existing staff, and

D. for completing a specific task when this required specialised knowledge and skills.

The criteria also safeguarded that, based on the Cypriot legislation, and international laws ratified by the Cypriot government, the foreign workers would enjoy the same terms and conditions of employment as the local workforce.

Unfortunately, despite the efforts we made and continue to make today, the number of foreign workers in Cyprus (third country citizens) legal and illegal is growing every year. The inability of the state and competent departments, the tolerance of the Cypriot society, the lawlessness of the employers that aimed and still aims at reducing labour costs, the violation of the workers' rights, the deregulation of the employment terms and collective agreements, and the weakening of the trade union movement in Cyprus, as well as the weakness of the trade unions in such cases to apply the collective agreements, and despite the operation of tripartite committees for the implementation of the criteria for issuing licenses for foreign workers, the numbers are growing, and so are the numbers of the illegal workers.

Based on figures released by the Ministry of Labour, the foreign workers in the tourist industry and especially the recreation centres, accounted for 34% of the total number of employees.

The main countries of origin of these foreigners are Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Over the years, the employment of foreigners in Cyprus since 1999 is as follows:

15 July 1995 - 13,845 persons employed.

15 July 1996 - 15,826 persons - increase of 14.30%

15 July 1997 - 16,924 persons - increase of 6.93%

15 July 1998 - 18,711 persons - increase of 10.55%

15 July 1999 - 20,827 persons - increase of 11.30%

15 July 2000 - 22,717 persons - increase of 09.05%

15 July 2001 - 28,267 persons - increase of 24.43%

15 July 2002 - 33,788 persons - increase of 19.53%

15 July 2003 - 38,993 persons - increase of 15.40%

15 July 2004 - 48,044 persons - increase of 23.22%

Between 1995 and 2004 there was an increase of 247.01%

Another source of illegal occupation is the foreign students in Cyprus, mainly Chinese, Pakistani and Bangladeshi.

Based on the admission of the government, there are about 30,000 illegal workers in Cyprus.

By March 2005 a total of 9,000 persons had applied for political asylum.

Based on figures released by the Social Insurance Department, the development over the years of the average number of foreign workers in hotels and restaurants on July 15 for the years 1995-2003 is as follows.

Year: 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Persons: 3290 3227 3044 3804 4682 5201 7051 8521 9005

With Cyprus' accession to the European Union and the right to free movement towards Cyprus, not only of citizens of the 15 members up until 30 April 2004 (who were in Cyprus in small numbers), but other nine new members states of the EU, we began to have an influx of citizens from almost all new members states, mainly Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

One of the sectors of the economy employing the largest numbers of European citizens is the hotel industry and the recreation centres.

On 15 July 2004, the number of foreign and European employees in the hotels and restaurants was as follows:

Hotels: 4,730 persons or 7.97% of the total.

Restaurants: 6,522 persons or 12.45% of the total.

The number of European employees in hotels on 15 July 2004 was 1,379 persons or 33,90% of the total.

The number of European employees in restaurants on 15 July 2004 was 566 or 13.78% of the total.

The number of foreign employees in hotels on 15 July 2004 was 998 persons.

The number of foreign employees in restaurants on 15 July 2004 was 3,990 persons.

On 15 April 2005 the number of European employees in hotels and restaurants was as follows:

Hotels: 1,713 persons or 23.84% of the total.

Restaurants: 715 persons or 9.95% of the total.

The number of foreign employees in hotels and restaurants on 15 July 2005 was as follows:

Hotels: 974 persons or 2.31% of the total.

Restaurants: 3,346 persons or 7.93% of the total.

The employers, exploiting the non-legislative regulation of the occupation terms and salaries, sign personal contracts with the social colleagues, with occupation and wage terms much inferior to those provided for in the collective agreements.

In order to tackle the problem, the Confederation proceeded to set up a special office to inform European citizens.

Our Federation, apart from the actions of the Confederation, proceeded at a first stage to translate a summary of the agreement in English and distributed it among all non-Cypriot workers.

At a second stage, when it was determined that a large number of social colleagues did not speak English, we proceeded with the help of IUF and the trade unions of Poland, Russia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, whom we thank, to translate the main benefits of the agreement into the mother tongues of these countries, so that every worker could be informed in his/her own language.

We also placed the whole mechanism of the Federation at the disposal of our European and non-European colleagues for any convenience and assistance. On 8 July 2004 we organised, in cooperation with another trade union of the sector, a picket march to support the Community workers.

Unfortunately, despite our continuous efforts, we did not manage to solve the problems and this is due mainly to the inability of the government to implement the relevant legislation and the unwillingness of the Community workers to join the trade union movement of Cyprus, because they are receiving pressure and intimidation from the employers.

All the aforementioned led to the increase of unemployment among Cypriots in the hotel sector and the working class in general, with all the negative consequences for the country.

We welcome the action of the EU to declare the year 2006 as a year of moving workers and we are ready to help in every direction.

We also welcome the decision by EFFAT to create a working group of representatives from the EU new member states to promote all the problems related to the protection and non-discrimination against moving workers.

We will support the effort of the Cyprus Workers' Confederation (SEK) for the legislative regulation of the basic terms of employment in order to protect all workers and we will insist on revision of the 1968-1978 Regulations for the Terms of Employment in Hotels and Restaurants so that they comply with the amendments of the laws and agreements, because only then will the workers enjoy the same terms of employment and the illicit competition between employers.

23 August 2005

OEXEV163doc(53KB)

CROATIA. Importance of Tourism for the Croatian Economy

● The Croatian National Bank΄s preliminary figures for 2005 show that international tourism generated 30% GDP

● International tourism account for a 45% of share of total exports of goods and services, and 78% of total exported services

● The per capita income from tourism ammounted to 1.600 USD

●

Tourism Policy Goals

● The main goal for the development of tourism are to profile Croatia as one of the best tourism destination in the Mediterranean and Europe

● To increase earnings from tourism, and become the most profitable industries

● To create the new types of offerings and products, to rise the quality of accommodation, catering and other services

● To protect the environment, cultural and historical heritage

●

Advantages of Croatian Tourism

● The preserved nature and environment ( 8 national parks, 1.178 islands), cultural and historical heritage, mild Mediterranean climate, proximity to European markets and long-established tradition of tourism

● Selective tourism: nautical tourism, dive tourism, cruises on motorised sailing ships, rural tourism, equestrian tourism, sports tourism, day-trip, health, adventure, conference, ecotourism, hunting, fishing, cultural and religious tourism

Croatian Tourism in the World Tourism Industry

● International tourism is one of the most expanding fields of the world economy.

● Europe, and the Mediterranean, still remain the most important tourism destination and major tourist market

● The World Tourism Organization predicts a 3% annual growth rate for the Mediterranean, where Croatia is emphasized as one of the countries with the highest growth rates in terms of international tourist arrivals (8,4%)

Employees in the hotel, restaurants and catering industry of Croatia

Hotels and restaurants:

Hotels 30.450

Camps and other kind of accommodation 1.450

Restaurants 16.100

Bars 27.119

Catering 2.350

Small businesses 1.776

SPA΄s 517

Total===============================79.860

Croatian tourism in figures from January July 2005

Kind of accommodation Arrivals/growth index 2005/2004

Hotels 111

Camps 102

Private accommodation 115

Apartments 95

Total 108

Structure of tourists in 2005

Country Index 2005/2004

Germany 95

Slovenia 102

Check Republic 93

Austria 99

Italy 105

France 159

Great Britain 124

Denmark 140

Sweden 143

Norway 200

The Best Season

● The results of best season shows that investment in infrastructure and highest quality of accommodation brings highest quality of gests

● Croatia open four highways on the main destination, new ferry, increase number of flights, open new train destinations, and received number's of cruises on motorised sailing ships

Seasonality

● Croatia is mostly and still seasonal destination

● One of the main goals is to prolong the tourist season to a whole year

● Seasonality brings a problem with seasonal workers or part time workers

● Those workers mostly are not members of the Trade Union

● Permanent seasonal workers is kind of substitute for full timers, but for the period during the season

Seasonality some facts

● Collective agreement apply to all workers

● Seasonal workers are paying fee only for the months during the season

● The seasonal workers are lower qualified

● The possibility for education is less than

● with full time workers

● . Salaries are lower and insecurity is higher than

● . Seasonality brings higher percentage of undeclared work

2005 - year of fight against illegal work

● UATUC announced year 2005 as a year of fight against illegal work

● Besides many of measures, which are applied by Government and Croatian Parliament, UATUC initiated Pilot projects on Local partnership, with local structures, employers and trade unions

● Those partnership should lay out the model of cooperation between all the structures in the town, fighting against illegal work

● Signing the agreement of common interest, town will award the license as a town without illegal work

Seasonality

● Autonomous Trade Union of Tourism and Catering of Croatia worn about the future of Croatian tourism, regarding the main goals on one side, and seasonality on other side.

● The experience of other countries from Mediterranean region are very welcome

For further information on seasonality in relation to its impact on the Croatian economy and employment, please refer to Annex 1, document H.

· CHAPTER 3: SURVEY ON THE MULTINATIONALS COMPANIES IN THE TOURISM SECTOR OPERATING IN THE MEDITERRENEAN AREA

Laila Castaldo

INTRODUCTION

THE TOURISM MARKET TRENDS:

CHALLENGES FOR THE WORK OF THE EWCs IN THE SECTOR

The aim of this paper is to develop, in the light of the overview of the companies in the tourism sector, the role of EFFAT in supporting workers΄ representatives in their effort to achieve sustainable working conditions and to preserve high standards of labor regulation and collective agreements.

1 TRANSNATIONAL TOURISM COMPANIES IN EUROPE

The tourism industry is a growing sector, i.e. it is capable of creating new jobs and its increasing performances will tend to continue in the next future, especially in the EU countries with a weaker economy.

The survey on transnational companies that EFFAT has produced will serve as a basis for actors in the sector. The purpose is to give an overview of the major players and a picture of their presence in the Mediterranean countries. It aims at providing basic information on the economic and financial side of the companies, their sales and profits, on the brands and the services offered to the clients, as well as on the size of the companies in terms of employees, number of hotels and rooms. It is deemed to be useful to show the presence of these companies in the Mediterranean area, and their weight and importance in the development of the market.

This has to be a work in progress, which will be consolidated and integrated with further information and developments, and primarily will serve as a tool for exchange throughout the Mediterranean area on key information and developments of companies in each country. It could be used as a starting point to set up an Observatory on European Tourism, an instrument shared by all members of a network where this document could be fed in and updated in line with other strategic documents, and where the developments of the market are constantly monitored.

When analyzing the sector, it is useful to differentiate between hotel, restaurant and catering companies because of their different patterns.

The table below shows the countries in the Mediterranean area where the companies are present, their headquarters and the level of employment.

Hotels	Presence in the Mediterranean countries	Headquarters	Number of employees
ACCOR	FR, IT, ES, PT, GR, ML, CR	FRANCE	168500
ACQUA SOL	CY, GR	CYPRUS	13000
ATLANTICA LEISURE GROUP	CY, GR	CYPRUS	1250
BOSCOLO HOTELS	IT, ES	ITALY
CLUB MED	FR, GR, IT, PT, ES	FRANCE	18000
CORINTHIA	ML, PT	MALTA	5000
HILTON GROUP		USA	84500
HYATT COROPORATION	ES, FR, IT, GR	USA
IFA HOTEL	ES, IT	GERMANY
INTERCONTINENTAL GROUP	IT, FR, ES, PT, GR, ML, CY
JOLLY HOTELS GROUP	FR, IT	ITALY
LOUIS HOTEL	CY, GR	CYPRUS	2450
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL	FR, GR, IT	USA	128000
NH HOTELS	ES, IT	SPAIN	12755
PIERRE ET VACANCES	IT, FR, ES	FRANCE	8515
SOL MELIA	ES, PT, IT, FR, ML, CR	SPAIN	36000
STARWOOD	FR, IT, PT, ES	USA/BELGIUM	12000

Catering	Presence in the Mediterranean countries	Headquarters	Number of employees
ACCOR	FR, IT, ES, PT, GR, ML, CR	FRANCE	168500
COMPASS	FR, IT, PT, ES, CY	UK	56391 (400000)
CORINTHIA	PT, ML	MALTA	5000
ELIOR	FR, ES, PT, IT	FRANCE	49965
GATE GOURMET	FR, ES, PT, IT	SWITZERLAND	4532 (22000}
LOUIS CATERING	CY, GR	CYPRUS	2450
LSG SKY CHEFS INC	FR, ES, PT	GERMANY	30000
SODEXHO	FR, ES, PT, IT, GR, CY	FRANCE	5000

In terms of services offered, we can group on the one hand:

Companies which prefer to concentrate on their core business taking advantage from specializing in what they do the best and in some cases profit from the economies of scale deriving from the specialization.
Companies which sell or outsource some of their activities in order to save costs, rationalise their activities and concentrate investments on specific resources

On the other hand companies, that are active in connected sectors, for instance companies that operate

in the tourism and catering sector {Accor, Corinthia, Louis)
in hotels and travel agencies (Sol Melia, Accor, Boscolo)
in the real estate and in the construction sector (Corinthia, IFA Hotels)
in local tourism offering tailored solutions to the local tourism characteristics

In the catering sector, the major groups tend not only to invest in all areas from business to leisure, but also to expand their activities into sectors other than providing food, e.g. facility management, security, cleaning, etc.

Having shown the characteristics of the important players, it is worthwhile to investigate into the level of market consolidation. This is an interesting point for discussion, as, although the market appears to be dominated by big groups, it is a fact that more than 90 % of the sector is made up of SMEs.

In this respect, the European tourism market is unique, compared to the USA and to other sectors of the economy in the EU, where few companies control major parts of the market. Many of the SMEs in tourism are run by family owners.

On the other hand, it is also evident that big companies are increasingly taking over small operators, especially if this facilicates the entering into new markets.

One of the main developments in the sector is the increasing tendency for hotels to franchise their brands or to manage hotels rather than owning them.

Another important trend in the hospitality sector is to transfer parts of internal activities to outside providers. Outsourcing is used to save costs and to increase the productivity, by concentrating investments in competitive advantage branches, and to meet flexibility needs. This is the case for instance for hotel chains which sub-contract cleaning and room services to external service providers.

Transnational companies are characterized by consolidation, take-overs, franchising, global/local brands, price rationalization and outsourcing. Ongoing restructuring processes, as in other sector in Europe, impose a change in the market which needs to be anticipated and accompanied in order to prevent negative social effects.

The risk for employees in the sector is particularly high when the company decides to outsource parts of its activities, as this can raise a sense of insecurity among workers, caused by the weakening of labour standards often going hand in hand with the outsourcing. Evidence shows that in many cases the workers in the outsourced services experiences a deteriorisation of pay and working conditions, and of respect of trade union rights. Outsourcing undermines the capacity of organization, representation and intervention of the trade unions.

One of the peculiarities of the hospitality sector, if compared to other traditional sectors in Europe, is the high mobility of workers. In the hospitality sector, not the companies are relocated to other regions, but the workforce moves. Many companies try to take advantage of lower working conditions and income levels in Central and Eastern Europe, and engage workers from those countries, which results in social dumping practices. This attitude of companies could lead to a downward competition, resulting in a decline in labour costs and salaries, but also a deterioration of the quality of services provided. This is an important issue, especially considering the opening of the internal market, and when workers from the new Member States will be allowed to freely circulate within the EU.

2 EFFAT ROLE AND PRIORITIES

Ongoing concentration activities and increasing outsourcing practices put the respect of union rights and the compliance with collective bargaining provisions in serious danger, due to the dispersion of workers and the differentiation of working conditions, caused by externalization, franchising or the concession of parts of the activities to other employers.

EFFAT identified priorities for pro-active trade union policies in Europe, and especially on the role that EWCs should play in such policies.

EFFAT promotes a proactive approach, which includes e.g.:

measures of training and retraining, and long life learning to ensure the more adaptability of workers to change
accompany workers in their professional career, e.g. with job counselling, individual career paths and work placement in other firms, especially in case of redundancies
widening of collective bargaining rights on pay and working conditions in case of outsourcing
redefinition of the traditional role of trade unions to face new forms of work
monitoring of the sector to give advance warning of areas where jobs may be at risk in the future

3 EWCs IN THE SECTOR (see the list from EFFAT database)

When looking at the situation in the EWCs and the role that these representative bodies should play in organising workers at European level, we first of all have to pose the following questions:

Which companies fall under the scope of the directive 94/45?

Which companies have already set up an EWC?

Which is the state of play with the new Member States?

See list from the database

With regard to the new Member States, we have to state that some companies have already integrated workers΄ representatives from the new Member States in existing EWCs (see the list).

When it comes to the establishment of EWC with a parent company in one of the 10 new EU Member States: initiatives have been started in Cyprus in the companies Louis Hotels, Atlantica Leisure Group and Acqua Sol, and in Malta in the Corinthia Hotel Group.

Concerning the companies which fall under the scope of the Directive but have not yet set up an EWC, they are the following (see the list):

In a fast evolving environment, where companies and workers are confronted with a more and more competitive and globalised market which imposes continuous change and restructuring processes to survive and to gain market shares, we believe that the EWCs must and are willing to play an active role to enable workers at European level to have a voice in the overall strategy of the company. A constructive dialogue between workers΄ representatives and companies, and a positive attitude towards change are essential, if we want to build a corporate culture and a climate of mutual trust.

Workers΄ representatives in EWCs should be properly informed and consulted on the strategies, especially when the company is affected by structural changes. Information and consultation of the EWC at an earlier stage before the restructuring is extremely important, in order to enable the EWC to play a role when relocation, outsourcing or takeovers take place.

Evidence shows that the participation of workers in company decisions contributes to enhance competitiveness and to promote social cohesion.

When restructuring activities are carried out, the European Industry Federations and their trade union network must support and ensure the widening of EWC actions.

On the other side, workers΄ representatives must play an active role in the management of change. They are not an externality as comes out from the last communication on restructuring of the EC, but a resource that the company must be able to valorise.

EWCs should build capacities to conclude innovative agreements, e.g. addressing the impact of outsourcing on employment, and widening the scope of the agreements in order to protect the workers affected by the externalisation. An example of good practice in this sense is the agreement on subcontracting concluded by the Club Mediterranée EWC.

Furthermore, it is important that workers΄ representatives are aware of the situation in each country concerning working conditions and how they are implemented in different companies or subsidiaries. EFFAT is promoting a model of Social Audit. Working conditions and costs are some of the items that influence decisions on delocalisation and investment. The aim of EWCs should also be to improve working conditions throughout Europe, keeping in mind salaries as an important issue but not the only nor the most important one. Social dumping is another risk that EWCs must avoid, in particular if competition is based on working conditions or implies a breach of labour standards.

Set up a framework of measures to support workers in the process of change, in the shape of joint documents, is a way to make sure that companies respect union rights and adopt a socially responsible behaviour. Some codes of conduct have been agreed with the EWCs in Nestle, Coca Cola, Danone and Unilever, in order to minimize the social effects of restructuring and to guarantee the respect of the information and consultation rights of workers.

A discussion at European level on ways to meet the flexibility of work is a crucial issue for tourism, whose well known characteristics are seasonality, short term contracts and high staff mobility. EWCs should be the engine of a constructive debate with the company, in order to meet the need of flexibility and adaptability of workers dictated by the peculiarity of the demand in the tourism market and the work security guaranteeing workers long lasting and well paid jobs. Such an initiative has been at the centre of the debate launched in the EWCs of the beer sector.

EWCs should also give voice to the new forms of cooperation with the company which concern most of the new generation of workers (especially in this sector), who are more at risk when it comes to restructuring decisions.

To ensure an effective level of communication and coordination is a challenging task for EWCs. Knowing about others΄ situation and sharing experiences helps to face changes in a more pro-active way. But EWCs are made up of workers coming from different models of representation, which may be an obstacle to the functioning of EWCs. On the one hand, the European Industry Federations and the networks of their coordinators should be committed to find the value of exchange between different cultural models; on the other hand EWCs must be open to finding common tools and to sharing values and objectives, despite possible tensions caused by the diverse national situations and social dialogue traditions across Europe.

OVERVIEW ON COMPANIES

ACCOR

DESCRIPTION

Accor is today a major player in the global travel and tourism industry with its partners in the leisure segment (Club Méditerranée and the Lucien Barrière casinos) and travel agencies (Carlson Wagonlit Travel), as well as its restaurants and catering services (Lenôtre, Gemeaz Cusin, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits).

Accor is also the benchmark brand in Services for companies and public institutions, with 19 million people in 34 countries using its services every day. From its base in meal and food vouchers, the portfolio of services to the private and public sectors has been expanded to include a broad range of innovative human resources and social program management solutions that meet employee and constituent needs.

In the Mediterranean area Accor Hotels are available in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta and Croatia.

BRANDS

The hotels business counts 4,000 hotels (all around the world) under the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Coralia Club, Ibis, Etap Hotel and Formule 1 brands, and in the United States, the Motel 6 and Red Roof Inn brands.

EMPLOYEES

In 2004 Accor counted 168,500 employees of which 49% men and 51% women. Between managers there are 57% men and 43% women.

In 2004 around 320 days of training had been provided and more then 120,000 people took part in one or more training course. A global network of 11 academies dedicated to enhancing employee skills.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Accor is a European leader in worldwide group in hotels and services.

SOURCES

www.accor.com

AQUA SOL HOTELS

DESCRIPTION

Aqua Sol Hotels is the largest hotel company in Cyprus, it is also operating in the Greek islands through 1 hotel in Rhodes and 2 hotels in Crete.

It operates through 36 Hotel units and the range of their offer goes from 4 stars hotels to 2 stars as well as apartments.

BRANDS

Aqua Sol Hotels is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

The Company counts 13.000 employees in Cyprus and 260 employees in Greece.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Aqua Sol Hotels offer over 5.500 rooms through its 36 Hotel units.

Indicative consolidated profit and loss for the year ended 31 December 2003

	· 31 December 2003	· 31 December 2002
·	· C£	· C£
· Turnover	31.898.764	32.791.708
General administrative expenses	(21.050.314)	(19.664.497)
·
· Gross operating profit	10.848.450	13.127.211
· Profit before taxation	3.877.075	6.757.305

SOURCES

http://www.aquasolhotels.com/

ATLANTICA HOTELS GROUP

DESCRIPTION

Established in 1981 with the opening of the first Atlantica Hotel in Limassol, Cyprus, the Atlantica Group has now grown into a hotel chain currently operating in Cyprus and Greece.

The Group offers 8 Hotels well located and with a variety of accommodation and facilities in 3 clearly defined brands, Atlantica Hotels aim to provide tailor-made holidays for families, couples and fun seekers.

BRANDS

Atlantica Hotels Group is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

The total number of employees is around 1.250: 600 employees work in Cyprus (more than 90% of them are members of Trade Unions) and 650 employees work in Greece (around 50% of them are members of Trade Unions).

In Cyprus, 3 hotels do not recognize Trade Unions.

Either in Cyprus or Greece, collective agreements had been achieved at the national level as well as at the sectoral level (in some cases even at the local level). It is interesting to notice that there are few differences among sectoral agreements)

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Atlantica Hotels Group operates through 8 Hotel units and it offers over 1.510 rooms. By March 2006 a new hotel is going to open; the name is Club Atlantica Sungarden Beach, located in the beautiful resort of Ayia Napa in Cyprus.

SOURCES

http://www.atlanticahotels.com/

AUTOGRILL GROUP

DESCRIPTION Autogrill is provider of food and beverage concessions for people on the move and is one of Italy΄s leading multinationals. The Group generated approximately 3.2 billion Euros in sales during 2004, two-thirds of which arose from operations located outside of Italy and one-half in North America Autogrill΄s concession facilities are located primarily in airports, along motorways and in railway stations across 15 countries.

In Europe it entered into the market of Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Switzerland.

AUTOGRILL SECTORS:

MOTORWAYS.

In the motorway channel, Autogrill is the operator of excellence not only in Italy, but also in France, Spain and the USA. It runs 534 travel plazas in Europe and 100 on key US highways: Philadelphia to New York, Camden to Atlantic City, Princeton to Charleston, York to Augusta, New York to Cape May, New Castle to Delaware River Bridge.

AIRPORTS

Autogrill operates food & beverage concepts and retail services in oltre 90 airports. The list includes 19 of the 20 largest hubs in the USA, among which are Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. The main location in Europe is Amsterdam΄s Schiphol airport. Autogrill΄s other airport operations are in Zurich, Athens, Basle, Milan, Rome, Naples, Bologna and Turin, and now also Marseilles. This new contract marks the Group΄s entry on to the French airport food & beverages market. Autogrill also strengthened its operations at Milan Linate airport, and at Athens airport, on the eve of the Olympic Games. The success in Amsterdam marks the official debut of HMSHost Europe, the new unit set up to develop the airport network in Europe. Sales in this channel reached 1,303.5 million euro in 2003.

RAILWAY STATIONS

Autogrill operates a total of 36 railway outlets: 20 in France, 5 in Switzerland, 6 in Italy, 3 in Spain and 2 in Belgium. During 2003 it opened a new outlet in Madrid -Athocha and Anversa.

SHOPPING CENTERS

Autogrill operates 113 outlets in approximately one hundred shopping malls in Europe, the USA and Canada. The list includes 7 of the largest malls in North America, for total turnover of 41,8 million euros, and a number of major centers in Europe, which generate aggregate revenues of over 173 million euros. In Italy, Autogrill food & beverage services are provided in 48 shopping malls and in 24 locations in city centers.

BRANDS

Autogrill is an important player in the global organized food & beverages market to operate almost exclusively on a concessions basis, with contracts assigning it the right to run specific services in specific areas. With a portfolio of more than outstanding 200 international, national, regional and local brands, the Group tailors its services according to client and consumer needs providing concession owners with a mix of concepts to suit all business situations.

Autogrill Group includes the following brands: Autogrill S.p.A., Spizzico, Ciao Restaurant and Burger King.

Autogrill, is the umbrella brand, offering a guarantee of quality in locations and a selection of the Group's food & beverage and retail concepts. Burger King, Starbucks Coffee, Pizza Hut, Sbarro, Chili's Too, José Quervo Tequileria, Casa Bacardi, Expedia.com Café, CPK Asap, Simply Book: these are just some of the well known names in Autogrill's international brand portfolio, which is flanked by local brands or food & beverage concepts developed specifically for individual locations.

EMPLOYEES

With more than 4,200 outlets in 890 locations, which are staffed by approximately 48,000 employees, the Group serves more than 720 million customers a year.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

In 2004 the Group had a turnover of 3.2 million of euros

Autogrill Group is operating through 4.200 units of sale.

Controlled by Edizione Holding, the Benetton family holding company which owns 57.09% of share capital, Autogrill has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1996.

SOURCES www.autogrill.com

BOSCOLO GROUP

DESCRIPTION

The Boscolo Group has been active in the tourism industry for over twenty years, as hotel manager, tour operator and provider of hotel services. Established in Venice in 1978, over the years the Boscolo Group has grown to become a European-wide operator, without losing its Italian identity. Today the Group, structured in three divisions, controls various companies: Boscolo Hotels in the Hotels division; Boscolo Tours, Rallo Worldwide, Boscolo Incentive and Liberty in the Tours division; Boscolo Group Service, Hotels Engineering and Boscolo Etoile in the Services division.

In the Mediterranean area Hotels΄Group are available in Italy and Spain.

· HOTELS DIVISION

Through Boscolo Hotels, the Hotels division works in the hotel hospitality industry, managing highly prestigious hotels, in important European tourist and business cities.

Today Boscolo Hotels controls 18 four or five star hotels, 14 of which are owned.

· TOURS DIVISION

The Tour operator business has always been central to the Boscolo Group, which in this industry operates through a series of subsidiaries. The Group΄s strategy in this industry moves in three directions: expanding the range of products and destinations, both ingoing and outgoing, the partnership or acquisition of tour operators and the development of e-commerce from the standpoint of both business-to-business and business-to-consumer relations.

· SERVICES DIVISION

The service division was created to centralize and optimise the management of some functions common to the various companies in the Group, and to offer full-range hotel service. The division included several companies.

BRANDS

Boscolo Group is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

With 188 million euros of turnover in 2003, the Boscolo Group is led and fully controlled by the four Boscolo brothers.

SOURCES

www.boscolo.com

CLUB MEDITERRANEE CORPORATE

DESCRIPTION

Founded in 1950, Club Méditerranée is a world leader in all-inclusive holiday packages. Positioned in the upmarket, friendly, multicultural segment, it operates in 40 countries, with roughly 100 vacation villages and the Club Med 2 cruise ship. Club Méditerranée vacations are distributed by more than 1,500 travel agencies in both direct and indirect networks. We are also active in strategically aligned businesses that enjoy strong brand recognition. The Company Jet tours subsidiary is France΄s leading tour operator and Club Med Gym is the benchmark in urban fitness centers.

In the Mediterranean area, Club Méditerranée is available in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

BRANDS

Club Méditerranée is a unique brand. It is a partner of Accor.

EMPLOYEES

By one side, Club Mediteranée Corporate counts 18,000 employees. They serve annually around 1.7 million customers.

On the other side, Club Med Gentil Organisateurs (GO) are professionals who revel in their work. Our 20,000 GOs are all young men and women in their mid twenties from the 4 corners of the world representing over 80 nationalities and speaking more than 30 languages. With 3500 jobs created in France each year and 7000 across Europe, Club Med Club is a 'heavyweight΄ recruiter. Indeed, they are France΄s biggest seasonal contract employer, offering 90 different job profiles.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Club Méditerranée reported revenues of 1.6 billion and operating income of 17 million in 2004.

The Club Méditerranée share is traded on the Euronext Paris First Market and included in the SBF 120 index.

In 2004, Club Méditerranée returned to growth in an economic environment that varied from one region to another. In Europe, the lack of a recovery and the decline in consumer confidence weighed on business during the summer, which was already disrupted by the adverse effect of the Olympic Games in Athens. This trend was offset by a buoyant economy in the Americas and the strong rebound in Asia, led by growth in China and Japan. In all, total revenues 1.6 billion for the year, an increase of 1.2% at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates. Operating income amounted to 17 million, compared with operating losses of 6 million in 2003 and 3 million in 2002.

SOURCES

http://www.clubmed.net/corporate/welcome.php

COMPASS GROUP

DESCRIPTION

Compass Group is one of the world΄s leading foodservice companies. It is unique in having a sector-focused approach to developing specialised solutions to clients΄ foodservice needs. It has a portfolio of companies that operate in specific market sectors, bringing with them the benefits of unrivalled experience, tailored solutions, focus, consistency and specialist employee skills. Through a series of international networks Compass Group transfers best practice, share ideas and create new offers.

Compass Group operates in over 90 countries across the world. Its global resources allied to its local expertise and understanding of differing cultures and market sectors enables the Group to develop tailor made solutions for clients.

COMPASS SECTORS:

· Business & Industry

Eurest is a world leader in food and services management to customers at their place of work providing innovative and high quality solutions.

· Fine Dining

· Flink, Restaurant Associated and the Patina Group are the brands presents in this specific sector.

· Defence, Offshore & Remote Site

· ESS is the world's largest provider of integrated support services to the defence, offshore and remote site sectors in over fifty countries, often in difficult and hostile conditions.

· Education

· Scolarest and Chartwells are the most highly regarded operators in this sector.

· Healthcare & Seniors

· The healthcare foodservice market is one of the most demanding and sophisticated in which it operates through Medirest and Morrison and its sister company Crothall.

· · Travel & Leisure

· Select Service Partner (SSP) is its specialist international retail concessions company providing high quality food and beverage services at travel and leisure locations, utilising its exceptional portfolio of local and international foodservice brands.
All Leisure, Levy Restaurants and a number of other specialist companies provide superior quality catering for prestige sporting, cultural and leisure venues.

· Vending

· Through Canteen Vending and Selecta we are the biggest route vending company in the world, providing high quality and innovative services to clients across the USA and Europe.

BRANDS

The range includes local, national and international brands to meet the demands of different customer groups but all are linked by their consistent quality and service. A combination of owned brands - such as Upper Crust, Harry Ramsden's and Caffè Ritazza - sit alongside franchised brands including Burger King and Sbarro to complete the range. The brands operate across all sectors of the market and are offered in fully flexible formats to suit different requirements.

Less well known and newer concepts include Profiles and Delimento. Profiles is a modular foodservice system used mainly in more traditionally unbranded locations such as staff restaurants, offering branded foods such as Coca Cola and Heinz alongside other freshly prepared dishes.
Delimento is an exciting new retail concept which offers fresh and authentic food produced and delivered in a fun environment with fast service. Customers can enjoy the theatre of chefs and staff preparing food for a choice of 'dine-in' or 'take-home'.

EMPLOYEES

Our 400,000 employees specialise in providing food, vending and related services on our client΄s premises

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Compass Group has generated annual revenues of £12 billion in 2004.

SOURCES

http://www.compass-group.com/CompassGroup/

CORINTHIA GROUP

DESCRIPTION

The Corinthia Group started out in 1960 with the acquisition of an art nouveau villa in Attard, Malta. The group now own or manage 31 hotels in 11 countries, and operate extensively in industrial catering, construction, and project management. The Corinthia Group was among the first to build a five-star hotel in Malta, complete with full conference facilities as far back as 1968. The group has grown steadily and soundly into what it is today: a corporation with an annual turnover in excess of Euros 170 million and a dedicated staff, selected for their loyalty, top performance and skills.

The Group is organised in four business units, each of which plan and implement well-defined strategies driven by the objective of continued growth, furtherance of their core interests and the ongoing optimisation of profitability of operations.

These business units are organised within the following four core competencies:

The investment and acquisition of prime site hotel real estate
The management of upscale hotels
Construction and the provision of project management services
Industrial catering

CORINTHIA SECTORS

HOTELS MANAGEMENT:

Corinthia Hotels International is a corporate working in Hotel Management and that has been in this kind of business for over 40 years. Its activity has grown in other way, too, with related business like catering, construction and project management.

CHI is operation hotels in four and five stars market; it has management interests in 31 hotels in 11 countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Libya, Malta, Portugal, Russia, The Gambia, Togo, Tunisia, and Turkey.

HOTELS INVESTMENTS:

In the investment sector, the Corinthia Group continues to play an important role as an international investor in hotel real estate, having whole or part ownership interests in properties world wide. Since March 2000, this business has been conducted through a new subsidiary - International Hotel Investments plc - which, subsequent to its flotation on the Malta Stock Exchange, has undertaken continued efforts to invest in Europe.

CONSTRUCTION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

The Corinthia Group is also aiming to position itself among the leading construction companies in Libya, having already set up a fully-fledged construction unit there, to build the Group's own five-star high-rise hotel. Acting with expert support, the Group's fully-equipped construction unit in Libya today employs over 1000 persons and is poised to initiate a major expansion programme aimed at tapping into this country's aggressive infrastructure development programme.

INDUSTRIAL CATERING:

Corinthia In-flight Services (CIS) moved to its current location in 1983 and now produces over two million meals annually to international airlines operating in and out of Malta such as; Lufthansa, British Airways, Aeroflot, Emirates Airlines, Alitalia, Air Malta, as well as the food preparation of many VIP flights. CIS is a member of the International Flight Catering Association and abides with the Association of European Airlines food safety guidelines as well as fully implementing HACCP procedures.

BRANDS

The Corinthia Group is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

The all group implement the work of around 5,000 people, in the 11 countries were Corinthia works.

In the Hotels΄ business, the majority of employees are members of Trade Unions but terms of negotiation are different in every hotel. For example, in Malta, among 230 workers around 130 are members of Trade Unions.

Employees are given the chance to follow their own individual development programme in order to reach their career aspirations. Through CHI in-house management development system, employees are able to gradually work their way up the ladder of success, developing at a pace that is suitable to them.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

In 2004 the total revenue of the company was of 46,623,923 euros, with a gross profit of 15,048,902 euros.

SOURCES

www.corinthia.com

http://www.corinthiahotels.com/index.asp

ELIOR GROUP

DESCRIPTION

Elior is the third operator in the European Concession catering market. It regroups two types of activity: Contract Catering and Concession Catering. From gastronomic restaurants to school canteens, as well as motorways areas, it master all aspects of the art of hospitality.

Elior works in Europe (France, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy) as well as in Morocco or Latin America.

ELIOR SECTORS :

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

Elior offers a wide range of catering formats and related services in this sector, including restaurants, fast-food and vending areas, retail outlets, meal tray delivery, executive dining rooms, event catering and conference room management

EDUCATION

Elior offers catering services for students, teachers, and personnel at public and private primary and secondary schools and higher education institutions. The Group tailors its services to the specific needs and demands of various age groups in different national Education markets.

HEALTHCARE AND SENIORS

Elior offers catering and related service formats tailored for patients, personnel and residents at clinics, hospitals, residences for seniors and nursing homes. Elior΄s strategy in the Healthcare & Seniors sector is to provide a multi-service offering (catering, cafeterias, bio-cleaning, hotel services) in all of its operating countries

MOTORWAYS

As the motorway catering leader in France and Spain, Elior offers services designed to meet the expectations of drivers and their families. Aware that it must constantly adapt its catering offering, the Group has in particular focused on developing fast-food formats and building up its network of retail outlets.

AIRPORTS

Elior provides catering and bar services, along with a number of retail outlets, for passengers and staff in the main airports of France, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina and more recently Italy and Great Britain.

CITY SITES

Elior proposes restaurant services, event catering and retail outlets in railway stations, museums, tourist attractions, sports venues and exhibition centres. In France, the Group also boasts a string of prestigious gourmet restaurants.

BRANDS

Elior has an extensive brand portfolio in order to meet the varied needs of its guests and clients. In Contract Catering and Concession Catering, this portfolio gives Elior a high degree of commercial and operational flexibility.

Our operating brands are the company names under which the Elior Group operates in partnership with both its Contract Catering clients (companies and government agencies, educational and healthcare institutions, and residences for seniors) and Concession Catering clients (motorways, airports, railway stations, leisure sites and exhibition centres). Elior΄s main operating brands are:

Contract Catering (Avenance: France, United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands; Arpège: France; Serunión: Spain ; BuonChef: Italy )
Concession Catering (Eliance: France, United Kingdom; Digby Trout Restaurants: United Kingdo; Áreas: Spain, Portugal; Latinoamericana de Duty-Free (LDF): Mexico)

EMPLOYEES

In 2004 the number of staff, under full and part-time contract, was of 49,965 employees.

In 2004, Elior counted the following number of employees in Europe: 6 392 in Spain; 26 574 in France; 3 745 in Italy; 1 916 in the Nederland; 295 in Portugal and 8 809 in the United Kingdom.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

In 2004 Elior counted a total number of 11,714 restaurants and outlets[2]

Sales increased by 5.0% as published and 4.4% on a comparable basis after stripping out exchange rate and scope effects and with a comparable number of working days. Pre-tax profit came to 117.7 million, a rise of 21.7%. Net income Group share after amortization of goodwill reached 36.9 million, a sharp rise of 47.6%. The Group expects overall organic growth of sales of between 4% and 6%, based in particular in Contract Catering on commercial performances recently achieved and in Concession Catering on increased traffic expected in airports. Acquisitions and disposals recently completed by the Group should impact in 2004/2005 sales in Contract Catering by 120 million and sales in Concession Catering by (35) million. Thus, overall total growth for the Group should be between 8 and 10%.

SOURCES

www.elior.com

GATE GOURMET

DESCRIPTION

Headquartered at Zurich-Airport, Switzerland, Gate Gourmet is the world's second largest airline catering company, providing catering services to many of the world's major airlines, such as British Airways, Swissair, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific to name just a few. Gate Gourmet serves its customers in 109 kitchens, in 29 countries, on five continents.

Gate Gourmet works through a variety of business functions in order to provide an outstanding product to more than 300 million passengers annually.

BRANDS

Gate Gourmet is owned by US private equity firm Texas Pacific Group.

EMPLOYEES

Gate Gourmet has approximately 22΄000 employees all around the world. It offers job training with opportunity to participate at internal as well as external training programs.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The company provides 800 thousand meals a day world wide, almost 300 million every year. As such, it has 160 flight kitchens in 34 different countries, in locations as diverse as Hawaii, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, New York, Madrid, London, Bangkok, Sydney and Tokyo.

SOURCES

HILTON GROUP Pcl

DESCRIPTION

Hilton Group plc is a leader in the leisure sector, with interests in hotels, health clubs, and a range of UK regulated betting and gaming services. It owns a portfolio of world-class brands including Hilton, the world's most famous hotel chain and Ladbrokes, the world's biggest bookmaker.

Hilton International (HI), an operating division of the UK based Hilton Group plc, owns the rights to the Hilton brand name throughout the world, with the exception of the USA. HI operates 403 hotels, with some 261 branded Hilton, 47 of which under the Hilton Worldwide Resorts, plus 142 under the mid-market Scandic brand. Under a joint venture agreement, Hilton International and the North American based Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) share responsibility for the Conrad brand, which includes 17 hotels in 13 countries. Hilton International Grand Vacations Company presently operates four resorts in Scotland and Egypt, comprising 271 timeownership units.

Ladbrokes, the betting and gaming division, owns a network of over 2,000 retail betting shops across the UK, Ireland and Belgium and extends its presence around the world with a range of websites: Ladbrokes.com, Ladbrokescasino.com and Ladbrokespoker.com which between them they have more than 600,000 registered customers in 160 countries. In the UK it also operates Vernons, the UK's leading pools betting operator.

Hilton Group's LivingWell Health Clubs division operates health and fitness clubs in many Hilton hotels and a nationwide network of stand-alone Premier clubs in the UK. LivingWell's network also extends internationally, with 9 clubs and 15,000 members including 5 clubs in Australia, one in Dresden, Germany, one in Adana, Turkey, one in St Julian, Malta and the most recently opened club in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

BRANDS

The Hilton Group Plc includes the following brands: Hilton Hotels, Landbrokes, LivingWell, Scandic, Conrad.

EMPLOYEES

The number of people employed in Hilton Group's businesses (which includes employees of associated companies and managed hotels), has increased steadily over the last 4 years to over 84,500. The majority of employees work in hotels division, where the group operates across 80 countries throughout the world.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

In 2004, the Group has an annual turnover of over £11 billion. The gross profit was of £ 514.1 442.9. Earnings per share before goodwill amortisation and exceptional terms (up 52%) were of 20.4 pence. The final dividend of 6.0 pence (up 8.7%) made a total of 9.6 pence.

A global marketing alliance between Hilton International and Hilton Hotels Corporation extends the number of hotels operated by both companies worldwide to over 2,500 over 500 of which are branded Hilton.

SOURCES

www.hiltonhotels.com

HYATT CORPORATION

DESCRIPTION

Hyatt Corporation works in 44 countries around the world, operating under the Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt brands. Currently, there are an additional 35 Hyatt hotels and resorts under development, including 12 new hotels in China. Hyatt Corporation (domestic U.S., Canada and Caribbean hotels) and Hyatt International Corporation (international properties) are subsidiaries of Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation.

In the Mediterranean area Hyatt Hotels are available in Spain, France, Italy and Greece.

Hyatt Corporation offers different services and specialities:

Business Services
Travel Agents
Discover Resorts
Hyatt vacation ownership

BRANDS

Global Hyatt Corporation is also the owner of Hyatt Vacation Club, Inc. (timeshare), Hyatt Equities, L.L.C. (hotel ownership), and U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (which franchises Hawthorn Suites, Microtel and America's Best Inns & Suites).

In January 2005, Global Hyatt Corporation also added an additional 143 U.S. properties to its growing portfolio with the acquisition of the upscale, limited service AmeriSuites hotel chain. These properties will be repositioned and renamed under a new Hyatt brand by early 2006.

EMPLOYEES

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The Hyatt Company counts 211 hotels and resorts (over 90,000 rooms).

SOURCES

http://www.hyatt.com/corporate/index.jhtml

IFA HOTEL AND TOURISTIK AG

DESCRIPTION

IFA is a recognised brand both in Germany and internationally. The IFA Hotel & Touristik AG can look back on more than 35 years of Company history.

Today IFA Hotel & Touristik AG has a wide-ranging portfolio of 18 mainly holiday hotels in Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy and Bulgaria. The main emphasis is on Grand Canary as well as the German Baltic coast. The complete offer ranges from 3 and 4 star hotels to high quality apartment buildings. An additional business segment in Germany is in the health area with three clinics for cures and rehabilitation.

IFA counts 23 hotels in 5 different countries: Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria and Domenican Republic.

BRANDS

IFA Hotel & Touristic AG is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

In the medium term IFA will form clusters of at least 3,000 to 4,000 beds. In order to achieve this aim the company is placing more emphasis on volume hotels which each have at least 500 beds. IFA AG has been traded on the Stock Exchange since 1995 and the Creativ Hotel Buenaventura S.A. has a holding of 51.35% - this is a 60:40 joint venture between the Spanish Lopesán Touristik S.A. and the tourism company Thomas Cook.

The Spanish shareholders are the tourism arm of the Canarian company Lopesán Touristik AG, a group of private companies on Grand Canary which are principally engaged in construction, property development and tourism.

Whilst about 35% of the total beds are to be found in six Spanish hotels, their contribution to the total IFA turn-over in the last year was about 41% and the contribution to cash flow for the whole group about 64%. The German hotels, holiday parks and clinics are chiefly on the German Baltic coast. They generated about 41,4% of the total turn-over during the year 2003, of which one third came from the clinics.

SOURCES

www.ifahotels.com

INTERCONTINENTAL GROUP

DESCRIPTION

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) is one of the world΄s most global hotel company in terms of largest by number of rooms. InterContinental Hotels Group owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, more then 3,500 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world.

In the Mediterranean area, the InterContinental Hotels Group are available in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta and Cyprus.

The hotels fall into one of three categories: franchised, managed or owned (Managed 403; Owned 166; Franchised 2,971).

FRANCHISED

We now license 2,971 hotels under franchise which account for 74.3 per cent of the total rooms and 51.3 per cent of the total hotel profits. Franchisees benefit from powerful brands, the global infrastructure and reservations system.

MANAGED

Just over 400 of hotels are operated under management contract, accounting for 18.5 per cent of total rooms and 11.9 per cent of hotel profits.

OWNE

At the end of 2004, 166 of hotels were owned or leased, accounting for 7.2 per cent of total rooms and 36.8 per cent of hotel profits. Since the Separation of Six Contintents PLC in April 2003, IHG has disposed of, or agreed to dispose of 121 hotels with proceeds of approximately £ 1.75 billion. Sixteen properties remain on the market with a net book value of £ 0.4 billion.

BRANDS

The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlezood Suites and hotel Indigo TM, and also manages the world΄s largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club Rewards, with over 26 million members worldwide. In addition to this, InterContinental hotels Group have a 47.5% interest in Britvic, one of the two leadings manufacturers of soft drinks, by value and volume, in Great Britain.

EMPLOYEES

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Intercontinental Group provides over 537,000 guest rooms: In Americas 2,783 hotels rooms; Asia Pacific hotels - 386,327 rooms; in Europe, Middle East and Africa rooms; Asia Pacific 149 hotels 42,125 rooms.

IHG turnover for the 12 months ended 31 December 2004 was £ 2,204m compared with £ 2,161m for the pro forma 12 months ended 31 December 2003.

SOURCES

http://www.hyatt.com/corporate/index.jhtml

JOLLY HOTELS GROUP

DESCRIPTION

In 1949 Gaetano Marzotto sets up the Compagnia Italiana Alberghi Turistici, predecessor of today's Jolly Hotels Group. Jolly Hotels is the leading Italian hotel chain listed on the Stock Exchange. The Group has 45 hotels in Italy and abroad.

In Europe it is available in France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany and the Nederland. In the United State a Jolly Hotel is available in New York City.

BRANDS

Jolly Hotels group is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Jolly Hotels Group own, in total, 45 hotels, and it provides 6.700 rooms. In 2004, the occupancy rate was of 66.5%.

Among its 45 hotels, the company owned 21 of them, managed 18 and 6 are in franchising.

The Corporate capital is around 10 million Euros. In 2004 the Company realised a turnover of 231.9 million Euros. The Group's current year turnover up to 17 March 2005 is 0.27% lower than in the same period of 2004 (+0.26% based on the same number of hotels).

SOURCES

http://www.jollyhotels.it

LOUIS GROUP

DESCRIPTION

Founded back in 1938 by the late Louis Loizou, the Louis Group first started out as a small local travel agency, expanding early on into the hotel industry. Through the decades, it has strategically developed into one of the Mediterranean΄s travel, tourism, hotel, cruise & catering groups.

Louis Hotels currently owns and operates 25 Greece Hotels throughout the islands of Cyprus and Greece. The 25 mediterranean units comprise of 4 & 5 star hotels, A΄ category hotel apartments, & holiday villages in Cyprus and A' category hotels in the Greek Islands.

The description of two main sectors of work includes:

LOUIS HOTELS

Own or manage 11 properties in Cyprus
Own or manage 13 properties spread across the Greek islands of Crete, Corfu, Zakynthos, Kefalinia, Kos & Mykonos
Specialise in family, active, leisure & all inclusive holidays

LOUIS CATERING

Provide catering services in Cyprus at the port of Limassol , as well as the international airports of Larnaka & Pafos
Established a presence at the international airports of Greece, Poland, Hungary, Russia & Egypt
Entered into an agreement with Compass Group PLC, the world΄s largest catering group
Are the Master Franchisee of both the international Italian restaurant chain Sbarro and the French
chain of Hippopotamus restaurants & grills
Operate over 70 Sbarro & Hippopotamus units in 6 European countries

BRANDS

Louis Group is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

Louis Hotels count around 1200 workers in Cyprus and 1250 in Greece.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Louis Group offers more than 12,000 beds in 4 & 5 star hotels & A category holiday villages.

While turnover during the first half of 2005 increased 16.4% year-on-year to CYP 58.77 mln, most of the advance was attributed by the company to the operation of new cruise ships and hotels.

Total expenses also surged 27.1% y/y to CYP 50.51 mln from CYP 39.75 mln a year ago, with the company blaming its aggressive expansion drive, mostly in Greece as well as higher fuel costs. Higher losses also resulted from the fact that the group increased its stake in Louis Hotels to 88% from 55%, which resulted in higher losses, as hotels mostly lose huge amounts in the first half, but recoup the losses in the second half when the tourism season reaches its climax.

SOURCES

www.louishotels.com

www.louiscatering.com

http://www.financialmirror.com/more_news.php?id=1771 (financial info)

MARRIOT INTERNATIONAL INC.

DESCRIPTION

Marriott International, Inc. is a leading worldwide hospitality company. Its heritage can be traced to a root beer stand opened in Washington DC, in 1927 by J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott.

Marriott International, Inc., (NYSE:MAR) is a leading worldwide hospitality company with nearly 2,800 operating units in the United States and 69 other countries and territories.

In the Mediterranean area it is available in France, Greece and Italy

BRANDS

Marriott Lodging operates and franchises hotels under the following brands: Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Fairfield Inn by Marriott, Marriott Conference Centers, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons by Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., The Ritz-Carlton Club, Marriott ExecuStay, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Grand Residence Club.

EMPLOYEES

The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has approximately 128,000 employees.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

In fiscal year 2003, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $9 billion.

Marriott International has more than 2,800 lodging properties located in the United States and 69 other countries and territories.

SOURCES

http://www.marriot.com

MC DONALD΄S CORPORATION

DESCRIPTION

Mc Dodals΄s is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving nearly 50 million people in more than 119 countries each day.

The Corporation is one of the world's most well-known and valuable brands and holds a leading share in the globally branded quick service restaurant segment of the informal eating-out market in virtually every country in which it does business.

McDonald΄s restaurants in over 100 countries, more than 8,000 are operated by the Company, approximately 18,000 are operated by franchisees/licensees and about 4,000 are operated by affiliates. In general, the Company owns the land and building or secures long-term leases for restaurant sites occupancy rights and helps control related costs.

The business is managed as distinct geographic segments: United States; Europe; Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA); Latin America and Canada.

BRANDS

Mc Donald΄s is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

The world's leading food service organization is headquartered just outside Chicago, in Oak Brook, Ill. Approximately 2,800 employees provide a wide variety of support functions to the 30,000 McDonald's restaurants in 119 countries around the globe through a network of divisional, regional and local-country offices.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The 2004 was a year in which Mc Donald΄s global restaurant System performed remarkably well serving an additional 1.6 million customers a day, posting our highest comparable sales increase in 17 years, generating a record $3.9 billion in cash from operations, and leading the Dow in share-price gain.

In 2004, consolidated revenue growth was driven by positive performance in all segments as well as stronger foreign currencies. Consolidated revenue growth in 2003 was driven by stronger foreign currencies and strong performance in the U.S.

In 2004 the total revenues was of USD 14,224 millions, which represents an increasing rate of 11%.

SOURCES

www.mcdonalds.com

NH HOTELS GROUP

DESCRIPTION

Founded in 1978 in Navarre (Spain), NH Hotels is today the third largest urban hotel group in Europe, aimed at business travellers.

The NH Hotels Group ranks third in the European ranking for business hotels. NH Hotels offers hotels in 19 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa.

In 2004, the company opened eight hotels in Spain and one in Italy with 1,200 new rooms. It also signed contracts to add ten new hotels with over 1,600 rooms, which are currently under construction in different markets in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico and Romania.

In March 2005, the company entered the United Kingdom with the Harrington Hall hotel, in a privileged London location.

NH Hotels currently has 25 projects for new hotels under construction, which shall entail 4,000 new rooms.

BRANDS

NH Hotels is a unique brand

EMPLOYEES

NH Hotels has, in total, 12,755 employees of 106 nationalities (38.2% Spanish, 6.9% Dutch, 16.7% German, 12.9% Mexican, 2.5% Argentinean, 1.6% Austrian, 1.6% Belgian, 9.5% others)

Throughout 2004, over 230,000 hours of training were given in which all employees from the different areas of the company participated.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

NH Hotels offers more than 240 hotels with more than 35,000 rooms.

In 2004, NH Hotels΄ revenue totalled 42.13 million of euros in 2004; a 3% or 953.8 million of euros increases over the previous year. The evolution of NH Hotels΄ net income was marked by an absence of extraordinary results, which in 2003 amounted to 28.4 million of euros. The operating profit (EBITDA), more representative of business performance, totalled 180 million of euros, 16% growth over 2003.

The NH Hotels Group is listed on the Stock Exchanges of Madrid (in the selective Ibex 35 Index) and Amsterdam, in Euronext. Furthermore, NH Hotels is a member of Stoxx Europe 600, including the best European companies. Also, NH Hotels is included in the prestigious Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) securities index.

Market Capitalization: 1.120 million Euros

The number of shares of NH Hotels is: 119,532,898

SOURCES

www.nh-hotels.com

PIERRE & VACANCES GROUP

DESCRIPTION

The Pierre & Vacances Group has been designing, developing and managing holiday homes and apartments for almost 40 years, anticipating European property and tourism trends.

The undeniable market leader in residential tourism, the Pierre & Vacances Group has developed a complete range of short and long stay holidays, with a choice of hotel and leisure services designed to meet every requirement of today's European consumers.

The Group's development strategy has recently led to the acquisition of Center Parcs Continental Europe, Europe's number one provider of short breaks.

In the Mediterranean countries the Group operates in France (offering 33,762 apartments and 157,711 rooms), in Italy (offering 1,377 apartments and 5,661 rooms), as well as in Spain

BRANDS

Pierre & Vacances Group includes 6 main brands : Pierre & Vacances, Maeva, Center Parcs, Residences MGM, Hôtels Latitudes and Pierre & Vacances City.

EMPLOYEES

Pierre & Vacances Group has 8,515 employees and 6.5 million customers (48% French)

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The group counts a total number of 45,000 apartments and holiday homes (2-4 star ratings), as well as 210,000 beds in coastal, mountain and countryside resorts.

In 2004, the turnover was of 1.1 billion euros.

Consolidated turnover for the first 9 months of the 2004/2005 financial year (from October 1st 2004 to June 30th 2005) is up 1.4% at 771.6 million of euros, compared with 760.7 million of euros for the same period of the previous year. The increase is 0.7%.

SOURCES

http://www.prline.com/mriwebsites/7304/en/home.html

LSG SKY CHEFS INC.

DESCRIPTION

LSG Sky Chefs, a subsidiary of German national airline Lufthansa, is a world΄s leading provider of integrated in-flight services solutions from catering, provisioning, equipment and retail to comprehensive in-flight management services. LSG Sky Chefs caters 270 airlines from more than 200 customer service centers in 48 countries. The composition of our global market share of more than 30 percent varies from region to region. In the Americas, LSG Sky Chefs is the undisputed market leader. LSG Sky Chefs sees great potential for increasing business in Asia and the Pacific. The Company is currently active in China, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India and entered the South Korean and Malaysian markets in 2003. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, LSG Sky Chefs continues to expand from its German origins and has become the major player in the region, with facilities in Scandinavia, England, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Egypt, Tanzania, South Africa, Austria, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia and Estonia.

LSG Sky Chefs is a global company with an international clientele: Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, SAS, American Airlines, Northwestern Airlines, United Airline, US Airways, Asiana Airline, Condor and Malaysia Airlines.

BRANDS

LSG Sky Chefs has a portfolio of international brands: Bartlett (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg South Africa; Catering Services, Kiev Ukraine; Caterair Protugal Assentencia A Bordo, Ltda Portugal; Inflight Catering (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg South Africa; SC International Service Ireland, Limited Ireland; Top Flight Teaxfree AB, Sigtuna, Schweden.

EMPLOYEES

LGS Sky Chefs counts 30,000 employees working at over 200 locations in 48 countries.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

LSG Sky Chefs produces around 362 million airline meals a year.

In 2004, LSG Sky Chefs had annual revenue of 2.3 billion.

SOURCES

http://www.lsg-skychefs.com/lsg/home/en/jsp/index.jsp

SODEXHO ALLIANCE

DESCRIPTION

Created in Marseille in 1966 by the Chairman, Pierre Bellon, Sodexho Alliance represents today a market leader either in the market of Food and Management Services or in the market of Service vouchers and cards.

In the Mediterranean area Sodexho is available in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece as well as Cyprus.

SODEXHO ALLIANCE:

Food and Management Services:

98% of Group Revenues
11.245 billion euro in consolidated revenues
It includes the following area: Business and Industry, Prestige, Defence, Correctional Services, Healthcare, Seniors, Education, Remote Sites.

Service vouchers and cards:

2% of Group Revenues
249 million euro in consolidated revenues
4.8 billion euro in issue volume
293,000 clients
12.9 million consumers
825,000 affiliates

1.5 billion vouchers issued

BRANDS Sodexho Alliance is a unique brand.

EMPLOYEES

Sodexho Alliance counts 313.000 employees all around the world. The total number of employees is distributed as follow: 37% in North America, 27% in Continental Europe, 16% in United Kingdom and Ireland, 10% in Africa, Asia and Pacific Regions, 10% in Latin America.

A Complete training programs, on site and in the restaurant, is offered to employees. It allows employees recruited with few qualifications to acquire the skills they need for a given job in Food Services. 28,000 hours of qualifications training were given in fiscal year 2003/2004. The objective is to reach 80,000 hours in fiscal year 2004/2005.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

In 2004 revenues reached 11.5 billion of euros. Organic growth in revenues, at constant consolidation scope and excluding currency effects, increased by 4.1% as compared to 3.1% reported in the prior fiscal year.

The 98% of the group revenue (11.245 billions of euros) comes from ΄΄Food and management services'', the other 2% (249 millions of euros) from the ΄΄Service vouchers and cards''.

Sodexho Alliance has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since April 3 1983 and on the New York Stock Exchange since April 3 2002.

SOURCES

http://www.sodexho.com/

SOL MELIA

DESCRIPTION

Sol Meliá is the leading hotel company in Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean, the third largest hotel company in Europe and number ten in the world ranking. Sol Meliá is also the largest resort hotel chain in the world. It was founded in Palma de Majorca, in 1956.

The company provides more than 350 hotels in 30 countries; in the Mediterranean area it is available in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Malta and Croatia.

BRANDS

Sol Meliá is a hotel chain with a highly differentiated hotel portfolio, both with regard to the locations of its hotels and their category and type (city and resort). The company is thus able to cater for the needs of a wide range of different types of travellers through its 5 hotel brands: Meliá, Tryp, Sol, Paradisus and Hard Rock.

Hard Rock café is a registered trademark of Hard Rock Holdings Ltd, used by Sol Melia SA under terms of a licence agreement.

Brands			Resort
Paradisus Resorts			5 star All Inclusive

Meliá Hotels			5 star - 4 star superior

Tryp Hotels			4 star - 3 star superior

Sol Hotels			4 star - 3 star superior

EMPLOYEES

Sol Meliá counts in its team 36,000 employees.

Sol Meliá has also signed a number of agreements with universities and hotel schools both in Spain and abroad (Universities of Seville or the Balearic Islands, Galicia Hotel School, Cornell University, etc.) which assist both in providing training to existing employees and in providing candidates as future employees.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Sol Meliá provides more than 350 hotels in 30 countries, with a total number of 81.000 rooms (14.459 rooms in America, 8.116 rooms in Cuba, 2.839 rooms in Asia, 55.078 rooms in Europe).

The average of occupancy in year 2002 is of 66.5M%.

The revenue in 2002 was of 1,010 million euros.

Strategic Alliances: Co-founder of the Spanish tour operator 'VIVA TOURS' (22%);

Co-founder of the Internet portal 'AOL Avant' (6.2%); Co-founder of the Internet B2B portal 'HOTELNETB2B.COM' (25.4%); 'Meliaviajes.com' (100%); 'lastminute.es' (70%).

SOURCES

http://www.solmelia.com

STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORT

DESCRIPTION

Sheraton has more than 400 hotels and resorts in over 70 countries. The company revenue and earnings are derived primarily from hotel operations, which include the operation of their owned hotels; management and other fees earned from hotels they manage pursuant to management contracts; and the receipt of franchise and other fees.
Starwood hotel business emphasizes the global operation of hotels and resorts primarily in the luxury and upscale segment of the lodging industry. At December 31, 2004, the company hotel portfolio included owned, leased, managed and franchised hotels totalling 733 hotels in 80 countries, and is comprised of 140 hotels that we own or lease or in which Starwood has a majority equity interest, 283 hotels managed by us on behalf of third-party owners (including entities in which we have a minority equity interest) and 310 hotels for which we receive franchise fees. The following tables reflect the hotel and vacation ownership properties by type of revenue source and geographical presence by major geographic area as of December 31, 2004:

Number of
Properties Rooms

Owned hotels .............................................................................. 140 50,000

Managed and unconsolidated joint venture hotels............................ 283 101,000

Franchised hotels............................................................................. 310 80,000

Vacation ownership resorts ................................................................ 19 5,000

Total properties ................................................................................. 752 236,000

In the Mediterranean area it is available in Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Malta.

BRANDS

Starwood brands include Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, and W Hotels.

EMPLOYEES

At December 31, 2004, Starwood employed approximately 120,000 employees at its corporate offices, owned and managed hotels and vacation ownership resorts, of which approximately 44% were employed in the United States.

At December 31, 2004, approximately 35% of the U.S.-based employees were covered by various collective bargaining agreements providing, generally, for basic pay rates, working hours, other conditions of employment and orderly settlement of labour disputes.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The company provides a total number of approximately 231,000 rooms in 733 hotels around the world.

The company relize, in 2004, a total revenue of USD 1,700 millions.

SOURCES

www.sheraton.com

RESTRUCTURING PROCESSES:
mergers, acquisitions and agreements

09/09/2005

Gate Gourmet London (Heathrow) and the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), assisted by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), today reached agreement on compulsory redundancy selection criteria and a process for the ratification of the company΄s survival plans. The agreed criteria include standard performance-based measures such as skills and knowledge, attendance and disciplinary records.
The company together with the union will next consider the results of the voluntary redundancy and compensation programme as they become available.

24/08/ 2005

Global Hyatt Corp. and Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE: SHO) announced today that they have entered into an agreement to acquire the 728-room Century Plaza Hotel & Spa located in Century City, California, on Los Angeles' chic Westside. Sunstone has agreed to acquire the hotel for approximately $293 million before expenses and renovation costs. Following close of the transaction in the fourth quarter of this year, the property will be repositioned and rebranded as Hyatt Regency Century Plaza and will immediately begin a $22.5 million renovation that will include guest rooms, common space and the addition of a Regency level and Hyatt Regency Club.

20/07/2005

Following the completion of the proposed operation, the Le Meridien owned and leased hotel portfolio (comprised of 35 hotels worldwide) will be sold to Newco, jointly controlled by Lehman Brothers and SCG. Conditional to this transaction, Starwood shall enter into management agreements with each hotel owned and leased by Newco. Given the characteristics of the agreements, only 23 of Le Meridien hotels are subject to the present transaction. The acquisition of the remaining 12 hotels, however, does not fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation.

15/07/2005

Ladbrokes, the betting and gaming division of Hilton Group plc, has today acquired Jack Brown (Bookmaker) Limited, the Welsh betting shop company with 141 shops. The private sale is for a consideration of £76 million, payable to various vendors.

The purchase of Jack Brown Ltd. by Ladbrokes increases its shop numbers in Wales from 29 to 156. The remaining 14 shops Ladbrokes is acquiring are located in the Birmingham area.

13/07/2005

Corinthia Hotels International (CHI), launched its fast growing brand for the first time in the United States/North American market during a Gala Evening held at the mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City on 28th June 2005.

30/06/2005

Yesterday, HNA Air Catering Holding Co Ltd and LSG Sky Chefs signed a joint-venture contract to establish a new ca-tering facility in Urumqi, located in the Xinjiang Province in the northwest of China. The shares in the new Xinjiang HNA LSG Sky Chefs Co Ltd are 51% owned by HNA Air Catering Holding Co Ltd and 49% by LSG Asia GmbH.

30/03/2005

The alliance with Altadis, one of Europe's largest tobacco companies, paves the way for Autogrill to acquire Spain's Aldeasa, an airport retailer with operations in South America, North Africa and Europe. The Group also gains entry into Germany by acquiring 49.9% of Steigenberger Gastronomie, an operator at Frankfurt airport

22/10/2004

Following approval of the transaction by the European Commission, Accor΄s acquisition of a 28.9% equity interest in Club Méditerranée took effect today. As Club Méditerranée΄s core industrial shareholder, Accor will help the company pursue its earnings recovery by developing mutually beneficial synergies.

11/06/2004

Club Méditerranée΄s two historic shareholders, the Agnelli Group (through its Exor and Ifil holding companies) and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, announced that they were selling their stakes of, respectively, 21.2% and 7.7% to Accor for e252 million. On October 22, following approval by France΄s monopoly regulation authorities, Accor became our core shareholder, with a holding of 28.9%. In addition to modifying the shareholder structure, the transaction has also led to changes in our corporate governance system.

(http://www.clubmed.net/corporate/en/rapport_annuel/pdf/Club_Med_UK.pdf pag 18)

04/06/2004

Accor Casinos currently has a joint company with Colony. The new organisation will be under the joint control of Accor, Colony and Barrière-Desseigne, which will bring its casinos and hotels with it. This new company will become the European leader in the casino business. The operation mainly involves three types of market in France: the acquisition of casino licences by invitation to tender, the running of casinos and the hotel market.

15/04/2004

Sol Meliá and Mapfre Asistencia have reached an agreement by which SISTEMA MAPFRE will become a shareholder in MELIATOUR, the travel wholesaler run by the SOL MELIÁ hotel group. The agreement includes the acquisition by MAPFRE ASISTENCIA of 50% of the share capital of the tour operator, as well as an option to increase the stake in the medium term. MAPFRE ASISTENCIA will take over the management of the company. The new Chairman of MELIATOUR will be Primitivo de Vega Zamora, Chairman of MAPFRE ASISTENCIA

23/12/2002

According to an agreement notified to the Commission for clearance on 26 November, Accor will acquire a stake in Dorint from the founding Ebertz family with which it will share control in the 78-strong hotel chain mostly present in Germany.

Latest News

Research Report

CHAPTER 1: COUNTRY REPORTS

·

· D The Public Swimming Pool Laws 55/1992

· FRANCE: COUNTRY REPORT

· CHAPTER 3: SURVEY ON THE MULTINATIONALS COMPANIES IN THE TOURISM SECTOR OPERATING IN THE MEDITERRENEAN AREA

· 31 December

· 31 December

·

· C£

· C£

· Turnover

·

· Gross operating profit

· Profit before taxation

· HOTELS DIVISION

· TOURS DIVISION

· SERVICES DIVISION

· Business & Industry

· Fine Dining

· Flink, Restaurant Associated and the Patina Group are the brands presents in this specific sector.

· Defence, Offshore & Remote Site

· ESS is the world's largest provider of integrated support services to the defence, offshore and remote site sectors in over fifty countries, often in difficult and hostile conditions.

· Education

· Scolarest and Chartwells are the most highly regarded operators in this sector.

· Healthcare & Seniors

· The healthcare foodservice market is one of the most demanding and sophisticated in which it operates through Medirest and Morrison and its sister company Crothall.

·

· Travel & Leisure

· Vending

· Through Canteen Vending and Selecta we are the biggest route vending company in the world, providing high quality and innovative services to clients across the USA and Europe.

Poll

New forum topics